The Bangtan Gal Chapter 44- He's Smitten
Chapter Summary: Jungkook's white shirts go missing. Jen gets noticed by Baekhyun. Bam Bam finally meets Jennie at the Dream concert. Jennie and Jungkook go against each other for dodgeball at school. Jennie checks out Jungkook's English.
Words: 12,000+
Genre: Major Jungkook fluff! And Bam Bam fluff!
Author's Note: Another custom chapter after some BTS events! I really LOVE this chapter and the scenes between Jennie and Jungkook when they played dodgeball at school and ate together after school. One of my absolute favorite chapters I wrote! I love their growing friendship/feelings for each other.
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Jennie slept soundly, on top of Yoongi as they napped on the couch, in the living room. Her alarm on her phone began to ring once the time turned to 1:30 PM, causing them both to stir in their sleep. Reaching over to her phone, she shuts off the alarm and lets out a sigh.
“An hour didn’t go by that quick...” She tried to go back to sleep as she felt Yoongi’s chest rumble against her when he chuckled.
“Unfortunately, it did. Time to go to the studio.” His deep voice was filled with sleep as he began to stretch. Jennie looked at him as he ran a hand through his hair. “You wanna know somethin’?”
“What?”
“You look like shit.”
Used to his smart-ass remarks, she remained unfazed. “Oh? So, do you asshole.”
Yoongi let out another deep chuckle. “What? You want me to lie? Wow, you look beautiful this afternoon.”
“Wow, well you look quite handsome this afternoon.” She mocked. “And your breath stinks.”
Suddenly, Yoongi breathed out heavily so she could smell his stench. As soon as his bad breath hit her nose, she covered it and fell off the couch with a yell.
“Ew! Not funny!” she cringed
“Was to me. Be ready in 20 so we can work on your cover.” He got off the couch to head to the bathroom.
Today was the day Jennie would finish covering Baekhyun’s Beautiful from EXO Next Door. Already admiring him as a K-Pop idol, she wanted to sing one of his songs and the song was really, no pun intended, beautiful. The song was released on April 22nd, and as soon as she heard it, she immediately wanted to cover it. She low-key hoped that he’d even notice the cover.
Meanwhile, Jungkook searched around his room for his white shirts. They were suddenly missing.
“What the heck is going on? I had them right here!” He started destroying the side of his room for his shirts.
Jen heard him muttering to himself in panic and decided to go into his room to see what was the problem. “You good?”
“No, I’m not! I can’t find any of my white shirts! They’re-they’re gone! All of them! ALL OF THEM!”
The Bangtan Girl stared at him like he was crazy.
All this...over shirts?
“Whoa, whoa, slow down. You mean to tell me you can’t find none of your shirts?” She tried to get him to relax as she grabbed a hold of his arm, halting him from pacing.
“Nope! None of them!” He grabbed a hold of her shoulders. “You gotta help me. I need my white shirts, you know how much they mean to me. Help me, please.”
“I’m about to go to the studio. I can help you when I get back.” She suggested, getting out of his grip. “You’re probably overlooking. You sure it’s not in your laundry?”
Jungkook decided to go to his laundry basket and dump out all his dirty clothes. “Nope! Where are they!?” He yelled in frustration.
“What are you whining about?” Jimin approached him out of curiosity.
“Someone had to take them. This is a prank, isn’t it?” Jungkook finally figured it out.
“Take what?” Taehyung joined in.
“Someone took my white shirts!” The Golden Maknae whined and started to fake cry.
Jimin immediately began laughing, which caused suspicion as Jungkook called him out. “It was you wasn’t it!?”
“I didn’t do anything!” Jimin giggled.
“Give them back!”
“Hahahah! It wasn’t me-hahahah!”
“Did you check the laundry room?” Taehyung suggested, trying not to giggle.
“If I find out that one of you messed with ALL my white shirts, there will be hell to pay.” He threatened them and left the room.
As soon as Jungkook left, Taehyung and Jimin started laughing.
“Y’all did it, didn’t you?” Jennie assumed.
“We didn’t do anything, it’s just so funny to see him so worked up over white shirts.” Taehyung giggled loudly.
“I hope he finds them.” She let out a sigh.
“I hope he doesn’t for a while. I like seeing him panic.” Jimin added. “I wonder who decided to take them. Maybe Hobi?”
“We could go ask,” Tae suggested.
“Keep me posted on the madness. I have a song to cover.” She said her goodbyes after they wished her luck, anticipating her new recording.
When she headed to the studio, with her headphones in her ears, she was asked to sound softer and build her way up as the song progressed because, in some parts of the song, there wasn’t any build up the first few times she sang the song.
“Maybe if you think about a boy or ARMY, it could help with the emotion.” She was suggested as she nodded, taking in the advice.
‘A boy, huh? Or ARMY?’ She pondered as her mind started to race with ideas.
With her phone in her hand, having the lyrics on her notes app, she waits for the music to start again. Once the music was heard from her headphones, she starts off softly, bringing out a sad tone to the beginning of the song.
Annyeong naege dagawa
Sujubeun hyanggireul angyeo judeon
neo huimihan kkumsokeseo
Nuni busidorok banjjakyeosseo
Raising her pitch slightly to a hopeful tone, she continued softly. And as she sang the chorus, a smile came across her face as she maintained the hopeful tone of the song.
Neoui misoe naemaeumi noganaeryeo
Nuni majuchyeosseulttaen~
Dugeungeoryeooh~
Her held notes sounded angelic, and strong but not overpowering the beat of the song.
neoui gaseume nae misoreul gieokhaejwo
Haruedo myeotbeonssik~
Saenggakhaejwooh~
Neoege hago sipeun geu mal...You’re beautiful
“Fly to you naegyeote isseojwo...You’re beautiful...” She finished the song softly and opened her eyes as the last bit of the instrumental played out.
“How’d I do?” She asked as she got pairs of thumbs ups in response, praising her efforts. “Ayeeeeee!”
After doing some finishing touches on the song, they post it on BTS’ SoundCloud.
‘Give it a listen! My fav has sung it so beautifully, that I just had to cover it! #JEN’ She tweets, posting the SoundCloud link of her new cover.
She decided to post a photo of it on her Instagram as well with the caption, ‘I had to. #EXONextDoor’
ARMY came rushing in with the comments like there was no tomorrow.
‘This was so cute!’
‘QUEEN!’
‘MOM! I was about to go to sleep!’
‘Welp, I won’t be going to sleep anytime soon. I’m gonna be listening to this all night.’
‘Can you PLEASE do more covers? Your voice is so soothing’
‘Baekhyun needs to hear this!’
‘#DoMoreCoversJennie’
‘@baekhyunee_exo this is great!’
‘I lovvvvveeeee this! Yes Miss Bangtan!’
‘GOD I LOVE HER VOICE’
‘WIG IS SNATCHED’
‘I WASN’T PREPARED!’
‘@baekhyunee_exo listen to this!’
‘If you combine both Jen’s cover and the original song, you can hear how nicely their voices blend. Kudos to Jen’s harmonious vocals. It’s like she’s singing right next to him.’
On her way back to the dorm, she decided to check her Instagram and perceived that a certain someone noticed her cover as she almost dropped her phone.
“He noticed!” She squealed after she read Baekhyun’s comment.
baekhyunee_exo: Well done :)
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On May 23rd, backstage at the Dream Concert, Jen finished getting her makeup done and told the members that she wanted to find her friends. Backstage was hectic, as the staff made sure everything was in order for the show. She managed not to get in anyone’s way as she spotted Jackson finishing up his conversation with one of the staff members.
“Jackson!” She happily waved, catching his attention. A huge smile came across his face as she jogged up to him, pulling him in for a hug.
“Jennie!” He picked her up and spun her around. She laughed at his enthusiasm before getting sat down on her feet. “My favorite American girl. How have you been? Congrats on I Need U.”
“Thank you! Everything is going well, I can’t complain. I’d be lying if I said that we weren’t tired but managing to get wins for I Need U is worth it. I’m so proud of our accomplishments so far.”
“I’m sure. You guys worked hard. I hear that J-Hope and Yugyeom will be dancing together.”
“Oh yeah, they’re gonna kill it. Super excited to see that and GOT7’s stage. Speaking of GOT7, are they free? I’d like to meet them.”
“Oh yeah! They’re very eager. I couldn’t stop talking about you, haha.”
“I hope it was positive things you told them about me.” She let out a laugh.
“Of course, I did. Come on, they’re in the dressing room.” He gestured for her to follow him.
She was excited to meet them, they seemed like great guys to be buddies with. She did want more guy friends after meeting a bunch of girl idols.
“Hey, guys! Miss Bangtan is here!” Jackson announced as they walked into the dressing room. She waved at them in a friendly manner after hearing a chorus of hellos. In the room were Yugyeom, Youngjae, JR, Mark, and JB as they excitedly got into a conversation with her.
“I’m an avid listener of you guys. You’re always on my playlist.” She happily revealed.
“Thank you! What are your favorite songs?” JB asked with a smile.
“I love A, I even know the choreography for it.” She briefly demonstrated as they looked impressed.
“I think she should’ve been in GOT8.” JB laughed as the guys agreed.
“GOT8 sounds catchy. But GOT7 is way better. You guys are the experts in your dances. Other songs I like are Turn Up the Volume, Stop Stop It and Gimme. I’m looking forward to your next comeback.”
After briefly talking some more with the members, Jen noticed that there were only six of them.
“I thought there were seven of you.” She looked around.
“Bam Bam.” Youngjae chuckled to himself, glancing at the members knowingly.
“He’s probably wandering around.” Jackson assumed.
“Ah, okay. I hope I can catch him later. I’ll see you guys around, it was nice meeting you.” She said her goodbyes and left.
“You think he’s gonna even want to meet her? He’s so nervous.” Mark pondered.
“He’s meeting her today. No ifs, ands, or buts. I’m tired of him just staring at her. He needs to man up and talk.” Jackson demanded.
As the show went underway, Jen stopped walking backstage when she heard an excited chorus of her name being called out. Two sets of arms wrapped around her as she was attacked with hugs from Jiyoon and Hyuna.
“Oh geez.” She laughed as the rest of the 4Minute members joined in.
“We missed you!” Sohyun said after they released her.
“I missed you more! How have you ladies been? Oh my God, it’s been a while!” Jen gave them individual hugs.
“We’re doing great, we’re so excited to perform,” Hyuna answered.
“Y’all know I’ll be jamming out when you perform crazy and What’s your name. If you hear screaming, it may be me.” She joked.
As Jen talked with 4Minute, from afar, Bam Bam zoned out as he watched her, mesmerized.
There she was.
She was right there.
So close yet so far, but he was still nervous to talk to her. He felt awkward about approaching her.
What would he say? How would she react?
‘Why is she so pretty?’ He thought with wonder.
He thought her curly hair framed her face so well and brought out her beauty even more. What was it about her that always made his stomach fill with butterflies?
“You’re drooling.” Youngjae nudged him, causing him to get out of his zone. “Go talk to her.”
“She doesn’t bite, man. She’s very sweet.” JB added.
“You’ll get along just fine. Do I need to drag you to her?” Jackson suggested with a grin.
“Please no!” Bam Bam looked at him with horror. “I don’t even know what to say.”
“Say what’s on your mind?” Yugyeom suggested.
“So, tell her, Hi, I think you’re beautiful. I like you, can I be your boyfriend?” Bam Bam made one of his funny facial expressions as the members ended up laughing.
“That’s...a bit forward.” Jackson giggled.
“And why did you make that face?” JB shook his head.
“Wow, he’s still crushing on Miss Bangtan?” Mark asked in amazement.
“Uh huh. He’s smitten.” Jackson wiggled his eyebrows with a smirk.
“I am not!” Bam Bam exclaimed, feeling his face warm up.
“Remember how he was staring at her at the MAMA Awards? Lipsyncing whenever her verse came on? It was so cute.” JR gushed.
“Uh huh. And he’s still looking at her with heart eyes. It’s painfully obvious. But I don’t blame him. Jennie is very pretty-ow!” Youngjae winced once Bam Bam punched his arm, in retaliation. “So aggressive...” He rubbed his arm.
“Well, he gotta wait until the dating ban is over anyway. But at least introduce yourself and be friends with her. Start as friends then confess once the dating ban is over.” JB suggested.
“I’m too nervous, all right? What if she thinks I’m weird?” Bam Bam said with worry.
He thought he could be a bit much with his goofy expressions and it may be a turn off for her.
Would she think he’s weird for how he acts around his friends? How he loves to dance to girl group songs, what would she think about that?
“Are you kidding me?” JR exclaimed. “If she can live with the Bangtan Boys, I’m pretty sure she can deal with you. Jennie will probably think you’re funny and cute. Be yourself.”
“I could’ve sworn she said that she loves when her ideal type is himself and not pretending to be someone else.” Mark thought about her speech on her ideal type, last year.
Jackson shook his head in annoyance. He had enough of his stalling. “That’s it.” He grabbed a hold of Bam Bam and started to walk towards Jennie.
“J-Jackson! No! What are you doing!?” He desperately tried to fight off his grip as he found himself getting closer to her.
No, he wasn’t ready.
He wasn’t ready to approach this girl.
He wasn’t ready to look at her in the eyes.
He wasn’t ready to get lost in them yet.
He wasn’t ready to blush and make a fool out of himself in front of her.
He needed more time.
“I’m tired of your bull, Bam Bam. You’re going to meet her.” Jackson had none of it as they got closer. “Jennie!” He happily shouted after she was left alone.
She turned to the two boys. “Hey, what up?”
“I wanted to introduce you to the seventh member that you didn’t get to meet. This is Bam Bam. Bam Bam, this is Jennie.” Jackson released him.
Bam Bam cleared his throat and smiled shyly, giving her a brief wave.
“Finally! I was wondering where you were!” Her sudden statement caused Bam Bam to look surprised. “Were you hiding from me?” She teased with a smile.
‘Oh my God, her smile...how is she real?’ He thought, feeling himself get flustered.
“N-nah, duty calls.” He replied. ‘Really Bam Bam? Duty calls? I sound so stupid.’ He mentally punched himself.
”I agree, everything is so hectic. That’s the idol life.”
Bam Bam noticed that Jackson had left them alone as he swallowed nervously, meeting her friendly gaze.
“So, you rap?” She asked eagerly.
“Y-yeah. I rap in GOT7.”
“Wow, that’s dope. Yoongi is helping me learn how to rap. I’d love to rap one day. Maybe even be a part of the Rap Line in BTS.”
“I can see that happening. I could give you some tips...if you’re interested.” He suggested
“That’s so sweet of you. I appreciate it.”
“D-did you like your get well basket?” He rubbed the back of his neck as her eyes lit up.
“That was you!?”
He smiled shyly and nodded. “I hope you liked the smarties.”
“Of course, I did! Thank you so much! Well, since I’m in front of you now, let me give you that kiss on the cheek.” She giggled as she pulled him in for a warm hug after placing her soft lips on his cheek.
His eyes almost popped out at the sudden affection but he immediately wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the moment. He caught a whiff of her perfume. It had a fruity scent to it, and it suited her.
‘She is so huggable.’ He thought as he couldn’t keep the smitten smile off his face.
So this was what it was like to have her in his arms. He was in heaven. Bam Bam didn't want to let her go as his mind started thinking about potential date ideas if he could have the courage to ask her out.
The GOT7 members were watching his face with amusement and decided to snap a photo for future blackmail.
After she pulled away, she spoke, “You really didn’t have to do that for me. It was so kind of you. Thanks for caring even if we haven’t met during that time.”
“Anytime. You really worried me. I’m happy that you’re okay.”
“Aw, Bam Bam!” She was touched by his words.
‘The way she says my name.’ He gushed. It sounded so cute the way she said his name with cheerfulness.
“I gotta get back to the dressing room, but it was nice meeting you! I hope we get to see each other again, soon.”
“Likewise.”
She smiled and headed back inside the BTS dressing room while he went back to the members.
“So, did you ask for her number?” Mark asked.
“I wanted to but it slipped my mind.” Bam Bam chuckled nervously.
He was too busy staring anyway. Man was she stunning in person. Photos don't do her justice.
Jackson, however, wasn’t happy with his statement. “How else will you keep in touch?” He frowned, crossing his arms.
“Instagram?” Bam Bam shrugged.
“I would ask for her number if I were you,” JB advised.
“Oh yeah, show him the photo,” Yugyeom spoke up as JR showed him the photo of him grinning like an idiot as he hugged Jennie. “We’re keeping this for blackmail.”
“Why!? Delete that!” Bam Bam shouted.
“Maybe we should show Jennie, what do you guys think?” JB pondered.
“NO!” Bam Bam yelled, trying to grab ahold of the phone.
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In the BTS dressing room, the members were dressed for their performance. Jennie napped on the floor with Yoongi, while Taehyung rested next to her. Hobi decided it was time to mess with the members and he went to disturb Jimin first while filming for a Bangtan Bomb. After messing with him, Hobi went straight to Yoongi and Jennie.
He filmed them, contemplating if he should mess with them but decided against it.
“They’re sleeping too firmly. Last time I got beaten up by them with the others. It wasn’t pretty.” He laughed.
He decided to go after Taehyung instead, messing with his chin while making sound effects to one of the member’s iPhones that was ringing.
Jen kept hearing Hobi’s voice and contemplated if she should hit him so she could sleep in peace. As she opened her eyes, she saw him with a camera, messing with Tae. She glanced over at Yoongi, who had awakened, too.
Not good.
Tae looked over at the napping pair and glanced at Hobi, with fear, shocked that he woke them up.
“You’re really bothersome, doing this.” Tae sighed while Jennie shook her head at Hobi.
“Fuck off,” Yoongi spoke up, causing those around him to laugh.
“He-he cursed.” Hobi giggled.
After a long nap, Jen headed out and walked around until she saw Jiyoon, Gayoon and Sohyun in line for a shooting dart game.
“What’s all this?” Jennie looked around, noticing the spinning wheel and prizes around the staff members, deciding to get in line with them while others got behind her.
“Jiyoon wants the Hulk Buster,” Sohyun answered.
“Hulk Buster! Hulk Buster, please!” Jiyoon looked on, determined. She looked cute, acting like a kid for her Avengers.
“She really wants that Hulk Buster.” Jen laughed. “I hope she gets it.”
“Me too.”
“Oh my gosh is that a Captain America action figure!?” Jennie shouted, pointing it out with excitement. “I want it! I call dibs. It’s mine!”
“You like Captain America?”
“Oh yeah, I love him! Chris Evans is so cute!” She daydreamed, making Sohyun giggle. “He’s my favorite superhero. Just don’t tell Jungkook. He’s more of an Iron Man fan.”
“My lips are sealed.”
After Jiyoon’s failed attempt to get what she wanted, Jennie tried to shoot at the spinning wheel and failed too, winning kimchi flavored noodles. Jiyoon had won cereal and couldn’t hide her disappointment.
“Man, I really wanted that Captain America action figure. I could have it in my room for display.” Jen let out a sigh.
As she parted ways with Jiyoon and the others, Jen continued on her path to go back to the BTS dressing room.
“Finally, I found you!” She stopped in her tracks when she saw Chanyeol from EXO staring her way, smiling brightly.
‘Is he...talking to me? No way, there must be someone behind me.’ She looked back but didn't see anyone.
“Are you talking to me?” She pointed to herself as he nodded happily and bowed as she did the same before looking up at his tall figure.
Jeesh, he was taller than she thought. But his bright smile made his height less intimidating as she felt at ease.
“Sorry if this is really random. I got really excited when I finally found you, hehehe.” He giggled shyly, covering his face. “I’m Chanyeol.”
“H-hi, I’m Jennie.” She felt her face warm up at the Happy Virus.
She always felt like EXO was untouchable and people she could never seem to approach. But Chanyeol seemed very eager and friendly to want to talk to her.
She wondered why.
“Baekhyun has been looking for you. I decided to help him out. He’ll be thrilled to know that I found you.”
“Come again?” Her stomach dropped.
Baekhyun?
Her bias?
He was looking for her?
Her??
Miss Bangtan?
She wanted to faint right then and there.
“He’s very eager to meet you! He wanted to talk to you about your cover. Can I just say that you have done very well? I enjoyed listening to it. Baekhyun can’t stop talking about it. It has been driving some of the members bonkers, hehe.” He giggled.
“Are you serious? Gosh, thank you!” She couldn’t believe he said that. That was a huge confidence booster.
To be praised by Chanyeol of all people. An SM artist. Just wow!
Chanyeol had given Baekhyun a quick text and they waited while having small talk until he walked up to them. Jen told him that she wanted to get the Captain America action figure but had failed, as he decided that he wanted to try out the game after Baekhyun arrived.
“Ah, there he is.” Chanyeol pointed him out and left them to talk.
“Hello!” Baekhyun smiled brightly. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Jennie!”
“Hi!” She managed to say, mesmerized that he was right in front of her. He grabbed her hands with his smile still plastered on his face. It seemed to have calmed her starstruck mind down as she returned his smile. “You’re one of my favorite idols. It’s an honor to finally meet you. I saw your comment on my Instagram, about my cover. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to listen to it. It really means the world to me that you, the original artist of the song, would listen to my cover.”
“It’s funny how it came about. Chanyeol had seen fans tagging his Instagram and mine on your photo and he brought it to my attention. We decided to sit down and listen to it. The first opening notes, Chanyeol couldn’t keep his jaw closed.” He chuckled at the memory as he released her hands.
“Seriously?” She covered her mouth in surprise.
Now that was a plus, that she was able to do that. She needed to stop doubting the potential of her singing ability. There is much to improve, but this right here was a huge start.
“Uh huh. It was well done. How long did it take you?”
“I’ve worked on the song for a week. Due to my schedule, I didn’t have that much free time. I was already familiar with the song because I’d listened to it so many times and sung along in my room. The rearrangement was made in the studio, I worked on making sure the same emotion that you had was there for the song, while still making it my own and then I took it from there. I had a blast working on it.”
“I’m eager to hear more from you. I have always wondered what is it about me that you love so much. I would come across photos of your interviews or videos of you speaking so highly of me. It’s very touching. May I ask why?”
“Well, it’s not hard. Your vocals are so amazing. Like you have no idea how your vocals have made me want to step up my vocal skills. Every time I hear you sing, I am inspired to be able to sing so emotionally, so heavenly and have that much passion. I love watching you perform, too. Your voice and charisma blow me away. I’m learning a lot in this industry, been in BTS for three years and we are still growing musically. You along with many other idols are an inspiration for me.” She revealed in a genuine voice.
“Ah, you’re making me so flustered from the constant support you have for me.” He said eagerly. "Thank you, Jennie,"
He always enjoyed meeting new people and he enjoyed Jennie’s friendly, determined aura around her. Her voice went great with his song. If they were to sing together in the future, it would be a treat for fans for sure.
“I would love to sing with you, one day if you are interested. I’m continuing to improve my vocals so I can push for future collaborations with other idols.” She continued, hoping he would agree.
His smile got wider as he nodded eagerly. “I would love to collaborate with you and teach you a few vocal methods in the future. Whenever you’re ready, just let me know and we’ll work from there once our schedules aren’t in the way. I’m positive SM will agree to it.”
“Re-really!?”
“Really.” He confirmed.
“Thank you so much! Is it okay if I hug you?” She asked.
He laughed at her excitement and nodded, bringing her in for a warm hug.
After their conversation, she asked for a selfie. He stood next to her, smiling sweetly while she grinned widely as they both put up finger hearts.
‘THIS HAPPENED! So happy to finally meet you! Thank you!’ She posted on Instagram and Twitter, causing EXO-Ls and ARMY to freak out.
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After BTS had performed, Bam Bam went out to find Jennie. The GOT7 members were watching him from afar, to see if he would do what he said he was going to do.
Ask for her number.
“You think he’s gonna do it?” Mark asked.
“He better do it,” Jackson demanded.
“I don’t think he has it in him. Watch him chicken out.” JB laughed.
“He better not.” Jackson huffed.
“There she goes.” Mark pointed her out.
Once Bam Bam saw Jennie, taking out her earpiece, and putting it around her neck, he let out a breath and approached her. He repeated everything that he wanted to say in his mind, confident that he wouldn’t be awkward.
Once she turned around and flashed him a smile, he tensed up as she spoke, “Hey, you! Long time no see! Great performance out there!”
“Th-thanks. You were great out there, too. I uh, wanted you to have this.” He presented his hands that were behind his back, revealing the Captain America action figure that she had wanted.
A loud gasp escaped her lips as she took a step back. She looked from the action figure to him, in astonishment as he started to chuckle softly, satisfied with her reaction.
“No way! H-how did you manage to win this, oh my gosh!” She happily accepted it, examining it in awe. “My Captain America!”
“I was in line for the game and overheard you talking about it. I was aiming to try out the game, just for fun, but I decided why not try to get the action figure for you.”
“Bam Bam, you just made my night.” She pulled him in for another hug.
‘Two hugs in one night? I’m on a roll.’ He happily thought.
Jackson nodded in approval. “Damn, that was smooth.”
“Whipped~!” Youngjae announced as the members laughed with him while they continued to watch.
“How long did it take you to win this?” She asked after they pulled away.
“Three times.”
“Man. You really didn’t need to go through all that trouble for me. But who am I to complain? I got my Captain America!” She cheered.
“Jennie! Come on!” Jin had called her out from afar, wanting her back in the dressing room.
“Gotta go, but thank you again, Bam Bam.”
“W-wait.” He grabbed a hold of her hand, making her turn back around. “I wanted to ask you something.”
“What’s up?”
“Can I-uh-can I get your number?” He stuttered out.
He hoped he wasn’t too forward or was giving her the wrong impression. He sincerely wanted to get to know her more. He liked her after all.
“Yeah, of course!” She took his phone and quickly typed in her number for him. “Here you go!”
“Sweet. Thank you. I’ll see you around, Jennie.”
“Definitely. I’m looking forward to getting to know you.” She headed back to meet up with Jin.
“He really had it in him,” Mark said in bewilderment.
“Should we start the ship name? BamJen?” Jackson suggested.
“When do you think he’ll text her?” Jinyoung asked as the members questioned the future of Bam Bam and Jen’s friendship.
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The next day, Jungkook continued to freak out because he still couldn’t find his white shirts in the dorm.
Who would be so evil to take his precious shirts?
Who had the guts to do something like this and expect to get away with it?
“Okay, guys, this isn’t funny anymore, the prank is over, give me my damn shirts back!” He yelled from his room.
“Aish, you still can’t find them?” Namjoon shook his head.
“Damn it!” Jungkook slammed his hand against his opened door in frustration as he walked to the living room.
He was pissed.
This prank wasn’t funny anymore.
“They weren’t in the laundry?” Jin asked, calmly.
“No...” The Golden Maknae grumbled. “Can someone just tell me who did it? I haven’t worn any white shirts in weeks! Somebody just give them back!”
Jimin continued to laugh with Taehyung which caused Jungkook to curse and attack them, wrestling them in the living room. After he beat them up, Jungkook stormed back to his room to try to seethe in solitude.
Once he left, a smirk slowly came across the Bangtan Girl’s features.
‘Wonder how long I should keep this up.’ She thought evilly.
Jungkook was so mad. She almost felt bad for doing this to him. He trusted her so much that he wouldn’t dare suspect her of all people to mess with his white shirts.
Jimin peeped her smirk. He was the only one who knew her secret. When she decided to tell him, he was genuinely surprised that Miss Bangtan of all people would steal Jungkook’s white shirts.
That she would be bold enough to do such a thing.
Days later in the afternoon, Jen chilled in the living room, playing video games by herself until her phone buzzed, getting a notification from the BTS Group Chat.
Jimin: uhhh just to give you a fair warning...Kook is looking for you
Raising a brow, Jennie immediately texted back
Jennie: Why?
Jimin: He knows
Jennie: What do you mean "He knows"
Tae: Ennie, you need to HIDE
Hobi: NOW
Yoongi: You R on ur own kid...
Jennie groaned.
You have GOT to be kidding.
Why did she open up her mouth? She should've known that Jimin would blab out that she took his shirts. How stupid of her to trust him.
Jennie: Jimin!!
Jimin: He beat it out of me! I'm sorry! Jungkook is so scary when he's angry! I'm sorry, Ennie!
As soon as she heard another ping, she checked the notification, feeling her stomach drop at who had messaged next in the group chat.
Jungkook: Jennie.
Jennie: Hey Kookie! :) :) :)
Jungkook: So...you touched my white shirts, huh?
Jennie: Me? Nooooo, I would never
As soon as Jen saw the next message, she immediately got off the couch, in panic.
Jungkook: I’m coming for you
She reread the text and ran into her room, earning a loud laugh from Namjoon who was in the kitchen. Shutting the door, she locked it, pacing around. She should've thought things through. She'll never make the mistake of telling anyone her plans.
She decided to hide under her bed, hoping that would be a great hiding spot.
Jennie: I didn’t do anything!
Tae: Jungkook please reconsider! Ennie is an innocent soul!
Hobi: Don't do this Jungkoko!
Yoongi: She dead
Jimin: Jungkook don't!
Jungkook: Where is she?
Jin: Whatever mess you make, I won't be cleaning it up.
Jennie: Jin! You not going to help me!?
Jin: This is your responsibility, sweetie.
Yoongi: She dead.
Jimin: Jungkookie noooooooooooo
Jungkook: I won't ask again.
Jungkook: WHERE
Jungkook: IS
Jungkook: SHE?
Namjoon: Last time I checked, she just ran in her room
Jennie: NAMJOON!
She received a peace sign emoji from the leader and a devil emoji from Jungkook
Jennie: Kookie please!
Namjoon: I'm leaving the dorm. I don't want to see or hear what punishment he has in store. I'll be at the studio
Yoongi: She dead.
Jimin: YOONGI NOT THE TIME!
Yoongi: Do you want me to lie? She's dead.
Namjoon: Don't punish her too hard, Kook. You don't know your own strength at times
Yoongi: She'll learn her lesson once he's done with her
Namjoon: Good luck Jennie!
Hobi: No! No! No! Jungkook this is a bad idea!
Jimin: Jungkookie don't lay a finger on our Ennie!
Jungkook: I'll be laying more than just a finger on her
“Why me?” She complained.
She was now alone in the dorm. And Jungkook was coming back any minute. It was too late to leave the dorm. He could be already here.
And as soon as she thought about it, she heard the front door open and close.
Great...
Her stomach dropped as she heard footsteps. She quickly put her phone on silent, doing everything she could to not make a sound. Hearing her doorknob rattle, her nerves got worse.
“Of course, you would lock the door.” She heard Jungkook’s voice filled with annoyance.
“Jungkook! It was just a prank!” She exclaimed. “Leave me alone! I’m sorry! It was a prank!”
“Oh, I know. But when you mess with my white shirts, I have the right to give you a proper punishment. Open the door.” He demanded.
“Jungkook, think about what you’re doing!”
“Open the door, Jennie.”
“Jungkook, let’s talk about this!”
“Oh, we’ll talk. My hands are going to do the talking. Now, open the door.” His voice went down an octave, giving off a threatening tone.
She decided to stay silent and for a moment she heard no more noise.
Maybe he left?
She considered getting from under the bed but decided against it after she heard more noise coming from her door. She realized that he was working on removing her bedroom door handle with some type of tool he found.
‘You have GOT to be kidding me! Am I worth this much trouble?! Over white shirts!?’ She panicked as he finally opened her door.
She swallowed nervously as her eyes came into view with his timberlands walking around her room.
“Are you going to reveal yourself or am I going to have to take matters into my own hands?” He talked out loud to her.
Jen kept her mouth shut. Maybe she could try to escape this. He was fast but she could squirm out of his grip if he caught her. Seeing the light from her phone flash, she glanced at it to see the missed messages from the group chat
Jimin: Jennie! Are you safe!?
Tae: ENNIE!
Yoongi: She dead
Hobi: Munchkin!
Jimin: GUYS SHE’S NOT ANSWERING!
Yoongi: She dead.
Namjoon: She brought this on herself haha.
Jimin: What have I done!? Ennie! Answer us!
Yoongi: She dead.
Hobi: You sure you should’ve
“Crap!” She yelped as he grabbed a hold of her ankles, pulling her from under the bed. She didn’t even get the chance to read the rest of Hobi’s message.
Jungkook turned her around to face him and pinned her to the floor before she could have the chance to crawl away. As she looked up at his stern expression, she swallowed hard. That was a look she was not used to.
“Now...we can either do this the easy way or the hard way.” He advised. “I think it’ll be in your best interest to go the easy route because I tend to not be so merciful when it comes to things like my white shirts.”
“Kook, come on now. Let’s not do this.”
“You brought this on yourself.”
“Jungkook!”
“Now I’m going to ask you one question...and you are going to answer me truthfully, do you hear me?” He got closer to her face.
His serious expression made him look more mature as his piercing gaze stayed on her like a hawk, making sure she wasn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. It was intimidating to see him like this and she wondered how she would be able to escape.
Where was Jimin or the rest of the guys? Shouldn’t they be scrambling over here to help her instead of texting the group chat?
“Where are my shirts?” Her thoughts were interrupted.
“I don’t know where they are!” She struggled against his strong grip. She could hardly move from under him.
“Strike one.”
“Kook!”
“Tell me where my white shirts are.”
“I don’t know!”
“Strike two. One more, you’re done for. I’m going to ask you, one more time. Where-are-my-white-shirts?” He demanded as his nose grazed hers.
“They’re someplace...where you are never going to find.” She boldly answered. “Admit that I outsmarted you, Kook.”
Jungkook poked the inside of his cheek, feeling himself getting more aggravated that he still didn’t have his white shirts.
It had been weeks.
Weeks since he’s had them.
Her stomach flipped when he leaned down, and she felt his warm breath against her ear. “You know, I really thought I could trust you. It seems like I need to be more mindful of those close to me. Because they can turn on you just like that. And take things that are precious from you. Like my white shirts for example. You know I wasn’t even going to prank you at all for this prank war? But I guess you didn’t have the same mindset. So, do you have any idea what I’m going to do to you?”
“Let me go and forget this happened?”
“I could...but that won’t be fun, now would it?” He put both her wrists in one hand as his other found itself slowly grazing the side of her stomach, causing her to squirm.
That was a sensitive area, because he’s been there before, and she knew what he was about to do.
He was going to tickle her.
“No, please! Not that, anything but that! I’ll buy you lamb skewers! Anything but that!” She started to panic.
“Should’ve thought of that before you said what you said.” He moved back from her face, watching her attempt to move around from under him.
“It was so tempting, I’m sorry-“ She was cut off by her laughter as he began to aggressively tickle her sides with both his hands. “St-sthap it-hahahah! Jungko-ok!”
“What was that? Huh?” He teased, as he tickled her relentlessly, watching her become undone.
“Are you going to tell me where my shirts are?” He questioned over her loud laughter.
No matter how much her hands tried to push him away, he continued to be relentless.
“Please-!”
“Please what? If it’s not about the location of my white shirts, I’m not listening to you beg for mercy. Suffer.” He answered her pleas with no remorse.
After a few more moments, she couldn’t take anymore, and finally, gave up. “Okay! Okay! Enough! I’ll tell you!”
He left her alone, smirking in satisfaction as he waited for her to pull herself together. “Now...about those white shirts...”
“Th-they’re at Amber’s place.” She revealed, trying to catch her breath.
“And I’m sure you’ll return them to me, today, right?”
“Uh huh.”
“Glad we could work something out.” He grinned triumphally. “But just a fair warning...Pull something like that again, the punishment will be even worse. That was me going easy on you. These hands can do a lot more damage.”
“I am never telling anyone anything ever again.” She groaned.
------
The next day, at school, Jennie and Jungkook attended gym class together. The two combined classes found themselves sitting on the floor, as the gym teacher announced that today’s activity would consist of dodgeball. Hearing that caused Jungkook’s mood to boost. He loved dodgeball and was looking forward to playing it.
“Jeon Jungkook. Jennifer Walker.” The gym teacher called them out, gesturing for them to stand next to him. “You two will be today’s team captains.”
‘Team captains? So, I’m going up against Kook in dodgeball?’ Jen thought as she glanced at her best friend.
Jungkook and Jennie were more competitive than others, and it would mean the world to her if she could beat him in dodgeball. It would give her some type of closure since he would usually beat her in video games.
The gym teacher told them to play one round of rock, paper, scissors to see who would get the first pick and Jungkook won by choosing paper over Jen’s rock.
The Golden Maknae looked around the handful of classmates that sat on the gym floor, waiting patiently to be picked. He pondered about which person to choose first, wanting strong teammates since he was stronger on offense when it came to dodgeball.
His eyes landed on Jennie’s shy friend, Hayoon, who was looking down at her feet. “Hayoon.” He called out, causing her to lift her head in surprise.
“Y-yes?” She stuttered.
“Come on, you’re on my team.” He smiled softly, beckoning her to come over.
As soon as she heard him call out her friend’s name, Jennie stared at him in disbelief. “What? My friend though? How dare you?”
“All about the mind games.” He teased as Hayoon stood behind him.
“Sorry, Jennie.” Hayoon smiled apologetically.
“Okay, you knew I was gonna pick her.” Jen frowned at the Golden Maknae.
“Exactly. I know you better than you know yourself. I know how you think.” He replied confidently.
“She’s supposed to be mine.”
“Not today.” He grinned cockily.
“I’m going to....” She trailed off, shaking her head. “The Lord is testing me today...”
“What?” He challenged. “What are you going to do, my dear friend?”
She wanted to smack that grin off his face but she suppressed her urges.
“You better take good care of her.” She huffed and turned to Hayoon. “If he does anything wrong, let me know. I’ll give him a beating back at the dorm.”
Hayoon smiled softly. “I’m sure Jungkook and I won’t have any problems. He is a nice person.”
“You hear that Jennie? I’m nice.” He happily announced.
“She’s only trying not to hurt your feelings. We all know you suck.” She turned back to her classmates, smirking in amusement when he yelled “Yah!”
After picking their teammates, the gym teacher began to explain the rules. “All right, I’m sure we know how to play this game but I added some more rules, to make it more intense. If the ball hits you, you’re out. While you stand on the sidelines when you’re out, you can have one of your teammates that’s still in the game, throw you a ball and you can try to shoot the ball into the basketball hoop. If you make the ball in the basket, everyone from your team is back in the game. If it hits the backboard, only you are back in. Captains, face each other, please.”
Jungkook and Jen faced off, staring each other down intently, as their classmates looked on in anticipation. Jen looked at him up and down, stepping up to him.
“Golden Maknae.” She acknowledged.
Jungkook smirked at her competitiveness. “Miss Bangtan.” He mimicked her movements.
“Ready to lose?”
“I think the question is, am I ready to win.”
“No, not today. You may beat me in video games, but today, you will be the one who’s losing for a change.”
“We shall see about that.”
“I want a clean game.” Their gym teacher interrupted their face off. “We’ll play three rounds. Whoever gets two wins will be victorious."
Jungkook looked at his opponent, examining her. Jennie’s defensive skills were only getting better and better. Something that he couldn’t touch. But unlike him, she didn’t have great aim and never went on an offensive route for games. If he could stay on her team, throwing the balls relentlessly, he should get everyone out and win the game effortlessly. His team had stronger players, the main thing he needed to focus on was her quick instincts to avoid getting hit.
Defense vs. offense.
It would be a great set of matches between the two teams.
The 97 Liners shake hands while their teams go to their spots. Attempting to walk back, Jen is pulled forward by Jungkook due to his strong grip on her hand. She looked up at the tall Golden Maknae with a serious expression.
More trash talk?
“Before I let you go, I just want to wish you luck.”
“How kind of you.”
“And I’ll happily enjoy some lamb skewers when I win. Your treat of course.” His bunny smile showed on his features.
She knew he was up to something. Narrowing her eyes, she glared at him playfully. “Hm, you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Well, when I win, I want my noodles. I will enjoy that treat to the fullest.”
“I think you may want to get your mind off noodles. The lamb skewers will be a great meal after school. Might as well prepare for it.”
“Ha! You tried it.”
“Make the best 97 Liner win.” He released her and headed over to his team with a confident look on his face.
Meeting up with her team, they prepare for the first round. “What’s the strategy?” One of her female teammates asked.
“All right, I have a plan in mind. It may sound crazy, but I strongly believe this will work. I want to take a risk.”
“What’s the plan?”
“Don’t get the dodgeballs first. Wait for them to get it.” She informed as they stared at the set of medium-sized, colorful balls in the middle of the gym floor.
She heard some of her teammates question her strategy. “You sure? Shouldn’t we run and get the balls?”
“That’s what they think we’re going to do. But we’re not going to. Catch them off guard. Make them believe they’re at an advantage.”
“Okay and then what?” Another teammate asked
“I want us to watch the balls and catch them whenever they throw them. Put your hands out like this.” She demonstrated. “Whatever you do, catch it, and then they’ll get out. If we can all catch their balls when they attack, then that means we’ll have fewer people to get out in the game, and we’ll have all the balls then. Trust me.”
Her teammates noticed a strong leader aura around her, as her plan made sense.
“When you get a ball, aim for their legs and feet.” She continued. “If you aim at their upper body, they’ll have more of an advantage to catch the ball. Their legs, however, different story. I won’t let you guys down, I will fight until we are victorious today. I will lead us to victory. Keep a cool head, and keep your eyes open at all times. Anything can happen in just a blink of an eye. Got it?” She looked at her teammates, who appeared motivated and pumped up.
They all put their hands in the middle. “One, two, three, Defensive!” They shout, throwing their hands up in the air.
Both teams placed their hands on the wall, waiting for the teacher’s cue. This was it. All or nothing. Jen’s heart began to race from anticipation. Her team needed to win this.
“Begin!” The gym teacher blew the whistle.
Like Jen planned, her team stayed back as Jungkook’s team ran up and got the balls. His team looked confused that her team stood back and thought it wasn’t the wisest choice. His team, as expected, threw the dodgeballs at her team, and Jen watched in approval when her teammates caught the balls.
Jungkook widened his eyes in shock at what just happened as he saw a handful of his teammates walk to the sideline. Irritation was clear on his face as he poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue, narrowing his eyes at Jennie. He was not happy at how quickly he lost teammates.
“BOOM!” Jennie fist pumped, high fiving her teammates who were cheering. She turned back to Jungkook with a huge smile on her face, having her arms outstretched, tilting her head to the side. “Now THAT is how you make a statement! We here to win today!”
“Game on.” He growled. “Watch your back.” He pointed her out.
“Don’t hate the player, hate the game. I outsmarted you. Admit it.” She shrugged.
“Yeah, and it’ll be the last.” He huffed.
He was not happy. He refused to lose to her.
It was on, now.
As the game went on, Jen’s teammates noticed how patient and understanding she was towards them as she gave them encouraging words throughout the game. She wanted everyone to remain calm and not be intimidated just because Kook’s team had stronger players.
Suddenly, without even noticing who hit him, Jungkook gets hit on the thigh by a ball.
“Jeon Jungkook, you’re out!” The gym teacher announced.
“Aish...” He threw his ball down in frustration and walked over to the sidelines.
He was so focused on trying to get Jennie out that he failed to realize others were trying to get him out too. Getting strong players out of a game was always a smart move, and he knew he had targets on his back.
Jennie’s team managed to win Round 1 thanks to their effort of catching the dodgeballs whenever their opponents tried to hit them.
“Aaaaayyyyyeeeeeeee!” Jennie yelled as she performed the Shmoney dance in celebration.
She happily gave her teammates high fives, praising them for their efforts, and told them to keep it up.
For Round 2, Jungkook’s team came back in full aggression. It seemed like getting the first loss of the game, lit a fire in the Golden Maknae as he did everything he could to get as many opponents out as possible.
Seeing an available ball standing in the middle of the gym, the 97 Liners glance at each other and make a run for it.
‘I need that ball.’ Jen thought hastily as she ran as fast she could.
Before she could grab it, Jungkook managed to swipe it from the floor first. She stumbled back and fell on her butt with a grunt and cautiously looked up at the Golden Maknae.
“Gotcha.” He smirked, readying himself to throw the ball.
‘Relax, Jennie.’ She calmed herself down.
If her teammates saw her panic, they would panic too. She needed to stay strong in this predicament. Telling her body to move as soon as she saw him move his hand to throw the ball at her, she barely managed to roll away, earning whoas from her classmates.
“As expected.” He grabbed another ball that was by his feet.
Mostly everyone had the balls on the sideline, aiming to make a basket so their whole team could get back in the game.
He threw another fastball at her, making her jump out of the way with a yelp.
‘If I didn’t move one inch, that would’ve hit me.’ She huffed as she got on her feet, watching his every move. One false movement, she was done for.
‘Clever girl.’ He thought, impressed.
He enjoyed the challenge.
‘Maybe if I could try to catch the ball.’ She thought as she stayed alert. ‘But his aim and speed of the ball are so intense, I’m not sure if catching it would be wise, in fear that it may fall out my hands.’
Hayoon stood next to Jungkook as she aimed a ball right at Jennie, who ducked down in the nick of time.
“Aye! Why is it two on one!?” Jen exclaimed as she continued to jump out of the way from any balls aiming at her.
“Sorry, Jennie. But you need to get out.” Hayoon giggled and threw another ball.
“Bye!” Miss Bangtan waved at her friend when she caught her ball. A pout came across Hayoon’s face as she walked over to the sidelines. Before Jen knew it, a dodgeball hit her right in the butt, causing her to turn to the thrower in shock. “Ow! You hit my ass!”
“Perfect shot!” Jungkook laughed, fist pumping. “Don’t take your eyes off me, next time!”
“Oh, so that’s how we gonna play, huh?” Rolling her eyes in annoyance.
Jennie stood by the sidelines while the rest of her teammates played against Jungkook and his team. Jen had tried to make a basket a couple of times but to no avail as Jungkook blocked every single one.
“Oh my god! Back off!” She yelled in frustration.
Why couldn’t he just focus on the game? Not on blocking her baskets?
Hayoon unexpectedly made a basket, causing her whole team to cheer.
“I made the shot!” She jumped up and down happily.
Jennie groaned as she saw all of Jungkook’s teammates run back into the game. She watched painfully as her teammates remaining got hit, causing Jungkook’s team to win this round. He immediately celebrated with his teammates, acting hyped up as he jumped up and down with them.
Jennie on the other hand, gathered her team to group up in a circle. “We may have lost that round but don’t let that discourage you. We still got this. All of you did a great job holding your own. And now we are in the last round. We’re going to need to be more on offense this time. But remain cautious of your surroundings. Never take your eyes off your opponents. We got this. Go hard or go home. Let’s take this victory!” She shouted as her team cheered.
“Final round!” The gym teacher blew the whistle.
This time, Jen sprinted forward to grab two of the balls in the middle of the floor and managed to hit two people in the process. After ducking around and avoiding the balls that were aimed at her team, she finally caught a ball that almost went over her head. Tossing it to one of her teammates to use, Jen watched triumphally as the person who threw the ball walked to the sidelines.
The game was equally matched, and both teams were determined to win. Near the end of the game, Jen stood by the sidelines with her team while Jungkook was still in the game, with one other person going up against three people left from her team. He seemed to be getting everyone out before it was just three people left because her teammates could not seem to hit him with a dodgeball.
“Whatever you do, don’t let Jennie get back in.” Jungkook requested his teammate as he went on to try to get the last people out.
Those Lamb Skewers were his.
Meanwhile, Jen couldn’t hide her frustration every time she aimed the ball at the backboard, it would get slapped away by Jungkook’s teammate before it could touch it. Butterflies were in her stomach as she witnessed that there was only one person left from her team.
“Please...” She whispered as she tried one more time.
“Walker! You’re back in!” The gym teacher announced.
Sighing out of relief, she ran to her teammate. “You good, girl?” She asked as she got handed a ball.
“No, I’m freaking out! I can’t do this. I can’t hit them, we’re going to lose!”
“Hey. Get that negative mindset out of your head. Remember what I told you. You can catch the ball to get people out in dodgeball. You got this. Trust me.” She reassured. The two of them ducked as a loud smack was heard against the wall when Jungkook’s fastball clashed against it. “I would like my head!”
“And I would like to win!” She heard him say.
Jennie kneeled and caught his teammate’s ball that was aimed at her feet, leaving Jungkook to be the last man standing for his team. He throws two fastballs, ready for this game to be over before anyone else from her team can get back in the game.
Unable to move in time, one of the balls hit Jen’s shoulder, causing her to fall back. Looking up, she saw that her teammate had a shocked expression on her face and she saw a dodgeball in her hands.
She had caught his other dodgeball.
“Atta girl!” Jen got up and rushed to hug her.
“Winner! Team Jennie!” The gym teacher announced. Her team all rushed up and joined in the hug, jumping up and down, and cheering in celebration.
“WOO! That is what I’m talking about!” Jennie beamed, with a huge smile on her face.
Jungkook, sitting on the gym floor, was disappointed that his team lost but was praised for his efforts. He watched Jennie celebrate, and it was like he was watching her in slow motion as her hair flipped to one side when she turned her head to him. The same bright smile still on her face.
She was something else.
Before he knew it, she was in front of him, extending her hand out. He smiled and took it as she helped him up.
Keeping a strong grip on his hand, she spoke, “Good game, Kook. Thanks for going all out on me. Your team pushed me harder than ever before.”
“Yeah.” He nodded. “I’m kind of glad you beat me.”
“Are you?”
“Yeah, because you make competitions fun. You’re unpredictable. But just so you know, I’ll be the one winning next time.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
“I’m ready for whatever you bring at me, bunny.”
-----
After changing in the dorm, Jennie and Jungkook took a stroll together, aiming to head to a local noodle restaurant so he could treat her to noodles since she won the game. As Jungkook approached the restaurant, he watched in confusion as Jennie walked past it.
“Wait, don’t you want noodles?” He asked as he followed her.
“I did. But I changed my mind.” She replied as she stopped in front of a Korean BBQ restaurant. “I’m kind of craving lamb skewers.” She smiled, giggling at his happy reaction.
“No way, are you serious!?” His bunny smile came across his features.
“Don’t make me change my mind.” She teased as he eagerly opened the door for her, letting her walk in first.
“Trust me, I won’t let you. You won’t regret it.” He replied as he walked in.
Getting seated at a booth, facing each other, they ordered lamb skewers and watched them cook. Some lucky ARMY came to the right restaurant because they secretly watched the 97 Liners. Some took photos, filmed them briefly, and watched them with giggles.
Jungkook noticed and felt a little shy when he heard one of them murmur, “Don’t they look cute?”
Jennie watched the lamb skewers cook while Jungkook ended up gazing at her. She rested her elbow on the table as her fingers tangled in her curls. The way she would briefly check her phone, watch the lamb skewers cook with anticipation, and how she scrunched up her nose out of habit, he thought it was some of the most adorable things he had ever seen.
Feeling eyes on her, she decided to remove her hand from her hair, setting her arm down. She flashed him a sweet smile and silently commenced a staring contest until she burst out in laughter from another one of his derp faces.
Jungkook smiled and looked down, chuckling his own self.
“This better be good.” She warned.
“They will be, trust me.” He guaranteed. “You won’t be disappointed.”
“I blame Yoongi for your obsession with this. But at least I finally get to see what the hype is all about.” She grabbed a stick after it finished cooking and took a bite.
“Well?” Kook looked on in anticipation.
“Yo, this is bomb!” She took another bite.
“Yes!” He fist pumped. “Told you that you would like them.”
As they ate, he requested to take photos, to let Yoongi and ARMY know about her new fascination with Lamb Skewers. The first photo he took was of her smiling while looking down because he said that he still couldn’t believe she beat him in one of his favorite games.
‘She’s still laughing at the fact that she beat me in dodgeball today at school. I will not lose again. #JK’
The next photo he took was a selfie of them, as he put up the peace sign and she stuck her tongue out. He tweeted the photo, ‘Suga Hyung, she tried lamb skewers for the first time, and loved it! Got her hooked!’
Yoongi would reply a few moments later, ‘Welcome to the lamb side. Once you get in, there is no way out, smartie.’
Placing his phone down, he looked up, watching her as he noticed her nose occasionally twitching cutely like a hamster. It gave him the urge to want to kiss it. Unintentionally, he let out a soft chuckle which caused her to look up and smile.
“What?”
“You keep twitching your nose.”
“Oh.” She touched her nose. “It’s a habit. I don’t even know I’m doing it.” She laughed. Moments later, he noticed her nose twitch yet again.
“You did it again.” he teased, making her cover her nose.
“I don’t mean to! Stop staring, you’re embarrassing me.” She laughed. A few seconds later, she glanced at him as amusement was shown on his features. “Stop it!”
The Golden Maknae let out another laugh. “Can’t help it.”
As they continued to eat, Jungkook noticed how big her cheeks would get when she stuffed food in her mouth. It was official. He saw no difference. She resembled a cute hamster. No wonder ARMY had been commenting about that on their Twitter. Now he saw why.
“So, how is your English?” She went to her native tongue.
He looked shooked at her question. “Don’t want to talk about that.” He said with a sigh.
“What did you get on the English test?” She went back to Korean.
“Let’s not talk about that.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“When’s your next test?”
“I have a test from the basics to what we’re learning now.”
“Let’s work our way up then. When’s the test?”
“In a few days.”
“Jeon Jungkook.” She scolded as he grinned sheepishly. “I’m going to kill you. You should’ve told me earlier. I could’ve been helping you.”
“Sorry.”
“Forgiven.” She replied. She watched him go through his bookbag, take out his English study guide for the test, and hand it to her. “Let’s start with greetings. Greet me in English.”
“Hello, my name is Jungkook.”
She did a double take when she heard his voice go down an octave. “How the heck did your voice get so deep?” She stared at him, astonished. “Manly...”
“Manly?” He repeated with a grin.
“Your voice sounds so different when you speak in English. And your accent is thick.”
“You like?” He raised a brow.
“Eh heh heh~” She chuckled nervously, causing him to smile teasingly.
“Yeah. I do.” She admitted.
His bunny smile got wider. It made him feel good that she enjoyed hearing him speak in her language. And how she called his voice manly. He felt good about himself.
She looked back down at the paper. “It’s 9 AM. What do you say to someone during that time?”
“Good morning.”
“It’s 3 PM. How do you greet someone?”
“Good afternoon.”
“It’s 11 PM, how do you greet someone?”
“Good night.”
“Okay, I see you.” She praised, nodding in approval. “Let’s have a brief conversation in English. Good afternoon, Jungkook.”
“Good afternoon, Jennie. How are you?”
She had to admit, he sounded cute when he was trying to speak English. She would help with his pronunciation of the words so he could speak clearer as they spoke.
“I am great. How are you?” She responded.
“I am well.”
“What is the weather today?”
“It is sunny.”
“What season are we in?”
“It is spring.”
“Can you describe the weather? Rain? Clouds?”
“It is sunny with clouds. No rain.”
She nodded. “All right we’re getting there. Looks like you’re also learning about appearances and colors. So, how would you describe me in English?”
“Beautiful.”
She couldn’t fight the growing smile on her face. That was smooth.
She touched her hair, wanting him to describe the color. “Hair color.”
“Pretty.”
“Hahah, the color, Kookie. Color.”
“Brown.”
“Can you say it in a sentence?”
“You have pretty hair.”
“The color?”
“You have pretty brown hair.”
She giggled. “Thank you. What type of hair do I have?” She touched her hair again, fluffing her curls.
“Pretty hair.”
She placed her head down as he began to giggle. If he keeps this up, her face will begin to warm up at all these compliments.
He was straightforward with his answers. No hesitations, just genuine.
“Pretty curly hair.” He corrected himself as she lifted her head back up.
“What color is my skin?” She tapped her bare forearm before going back to look at the paper.
“Beautiful black skin.”
Stopping what she was doing, she slowly lifted her head, gazing at him, speechless. That statement hit her heart as she thought about those wanting her to bleach her skin, calling it dirty. She received so much crap about her colored skin, and to hear him call her skin beautiful with no hesitation, touched her.
“...Do you...” She spoke softly. “...really mean that?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “You...have beautiful skin. Not dirty. Do not listen to hate. Listen to love. Listen to BTS. Listen to ARMY. You are beautiful. No lie.” His English was still broken, he stumbled on the words, and not to mention his thick accent was still there but she caught what he was trying to tell her. “I thought this of you. Since we met.”
Her eyes began to water as she looked down, speaking back in Korean with a shaky voice after clearing her throat. “Gosh, these onions are really getting through my eyes, Kook.”
“But there are no onions around here,” he said in his native tongue.
She wiped her developing tears and sniffed. She didn’t want him to see her cry, but she was overwhelmed with happiness.
“I want to learn more English so I can talk to you in English.” He brought up.
“But we can speak in Korean together.” She sniffed softly and met his gaze.
“I know that but, you already know my language. I want to get to know your language so there won’t be any language barrier between us. I kind of envy those who can talk to you in your language. Like Namjoon Hyung. I want to be able to do that.”
He was so serious about this.
“And you will. Learning a language takes time and patience. You’ll get there, Kookie.” She smiled in reassurance.
“Okay.”
“All right, let’s get to the harder stuff for your upcoming test.”
When the bill came, Jen went to grab it and ended up placing her hand on Jungkook’s.
“I’ll pay.” He said.
“It’s cool, I want to.” She reassured.
Jungkook shook his head, starting to get stubborn. “I want to pay.”
“Kook, I never get to treat you. Come on. Let me pay.”
“No, I got this, it’s fine.”
“Kookie!” She whined.
“Jennie!” He whined back.
She let out a sigh. “How about this? We both pay half and half. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“But the next time I’ll treat you, got it? It’ll be a trend. Next time I’ll treat. Then you. Then we’ll pay half and half, then I’ll treat again and so on.”
“Not a bad idea.”
“Glad we could agree, my good friend.”
“Indeed milady.”
Soon after they paid, the fangirls finally began to speak, calling out their names and waving.
“Hi!” Jennie waved.
The girls were covering their faces with their hands, acting shy around them as they waved back.
“How was school?” One of them asked.
“It went well. My team beat Jungkook in dodgeball!” She happily announced.
“L-let’s not get cocky now.” He whined, causing the girls to giggle at him.
“Will you be on Running Man again?” Another fan asked.
“Yeah, I want to see the Golden Duo on Running Man again! It was so fun seeing you work together.”
“I’m down. Are you?” Jen turned to Jungkook.
“Why not?” He smiled.
“I hope they have a couples episode soon, so you two can go there together and beat everyone. It’ll be so fun to watch. They usually have those episodes and have a couples' tag game. I would love to see that happen soon.”
“If they want us, all they gotta do is ask. I would gladly go back to Running Man.” Jungkook added.
After some cute photos with the fans and a brief conversation on whether they were eating well and resting up, Jennie and Jungkook walked back to the dorm as the girls immediately tweeted their photos
‘Saw JenKook today! Just my luck! Jennie’s hair bounced when she walked, it was cute! And Jungkook is so hot! I’m crying!’
‘Spotted Jennie and Jungkook eating after school! Love the 97 Liners!’
‘Jennie is so nice! She looks small compared to Jungkook with his big muscles, it was cute! His muscles are getting bigger! It was a sight!’
‘Why are the BTS members so beautiful in person? They’re unreal!’
‘I wanted to ask Jennie if I could touch her hair but was too afraid she would say no. Her hair is so pretty, though!’
Back at the dorm, Jungkook took out his keys, placing one of them inside the door.
“Jungkook,” Jennie called out softly, placing her hand on his to stop him.
“Yeah?” He turned his head.
Placing a hand behind the back of his head, she stood up on her toes, pressing her soft lips against his forehead for a moment. His eyes widened at her sudden gesture as he felt his face heat up once she pulled away.
She smiled softly at him. “Thank you. For calling my skin beautiful. Your kind words always hit close to home.”
“Y-yeah, always. I meant every word. Don’t forget that.” He smiled shyly and opened the door, letting her go in first.
Later in the afternoon, Jennie and Jin were in the kitchen. She was in the mood for oatmeal because she saw the box in the cabinet. Jin offered to make it for her, so she sat at the dining room table, waiting patiently. She craved apple cinnamon oatmeal. It was one of her favorites to eat. Jin decided to make it from scratch, just for her.
Meanwhile, Jimin met up with Taehyung and Jungkook on his bed, having a big bag to show them.
“You sure that'll work?” Jungkook asked.
“Hobi Hyung fears everything, it’ll work.” Jimin giggled evilly and took out a live lobster. It was huge as the boys looked at it moved in awe, touching it experimentally.
Jungkook and Tae wanted a front row seat to Jimin’s prank. They had told Jennie about it and she told them that she didn’t want to be responsible for Hobi’s death via petrification, but she’d know if the prank went well if she heard him scream. She was rooting for a successful prank, supporting their evil antics.
Hobi was currently in the bathroom, showering after dance practice, and Jimin thought the perfect time to prank him was while he was in the bathroom. Slowly opening up the bathroom door with the lobster, alive, in his hand, Jimin tip toed in, undetected. Tae and Jungkook suppressed their giggles as they watched from the doorway.
This was going to be a good prank.
With Jin, he finished making the oatmeal and made two big bowls for her and himself. He sat next to her, handing her a spoon. They waited until it cooled down, before eating a spoonful.
“How is it?” He asked.
“Tastes just like home.” She took another bite. “And you made this from scratch? It’s so fresh, the apples are so sweet. I love it, thank you Jin!”
“Anytime, sweetie.” He felt proud of his work and enjoyed his cooking.
A piercing high pitched scream was heard from the bathroom, startling the oatmeal eaters.
“What in the world...?” Jin looked up as they heard loud thumping, crashing and rapid shuffling coming from the bathroom.
It sounded like Hobi was slipping and falling around in the tub and his screams got louder.
“JIMIN!” Another scream was heard from Hobi, over the Maknae Line’s laughter. “GET IT AWAY! GET IT AWAY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? DON’T COME ANY CLOSER!”
“Yep. They done it now.” Jennie took another bite of her oatmeal, shaking her head.
“What the heck is going on in there!?” Jin shouted.
“Ah, he’s fine.”
Jin turned his head to her, widening his eyes. “He doesn’t sound fine!”
Hobi scrambled out of the bathroom, naked with suds in his hair as Jimin chased him with the lobster. Jungkook and Taehyung dropped to the floor with laughter.
Jennie looked up and turned her head at the worst time, getting a full view of Hobi’s bare ass.
“Oh, my God!” She screamed, covering her mouth in horror.
That image was not going away, anytime soon for her. She could not unsee this. She was glad it wasn’t the front.
“SHIELD YOUR EYES!” Jin yelled, pushing the back of her head down into her warm bowl of oatmeal. “There is a lady here! What are you guys doing!? Knock it off!” He shouted at the boys.
He heard Jen banging her hand on the table in submission and looked down in shock at what he was doing to her. He let go and laughed nervously when she slowly raised her head.
Her face and hair were covered in oatmeal while she stared at him with annoyance.
“S-sorry.” He grabbed a napkin and tried to clean her face but she snatched it from his hands.
Suddenly, she grabbed a handful of her oatmeal and shoved it in his face. Appalled, he grabbed a handful and shoved it in her face.
“Jin!”
“You hit me first!”
“You shoved my face in oatmeal, first!”
“I was trying to protect you from that horrid sight!”
“You know what?” She got up from her seat and he followed her movements. She aimed another handful of oatmeal at him but he ducked and it ended up smacking Namjoon in the face.
Gasping in shock, she covered her mouth, while Namjoon let out a sigh, and stood up, taking off his hoodie.
“Who did it?” He demanded.
Jin immediately pointed to her.
"It was an accident!” She laughed.
“Really, Nie Nie? Well, this wasn’t an accident.” Namjoon said as he hit her with a handful of oatmeal.
“Oh hell no.”
The three of them began to toss oatmeal all over each other, initiating a food fight as the dorm filled with laughter along with Hobi’s constant screaming.
“Grab her! Grab her!” Jin shouted as Namjoon grabbed a hold of her while Jin had another handful of oatmeal ready.
“No! No!” She tried to get out of his grip. Once she did, Jin accidentally smacked Namjoon in the face instead.
“YAH!” the leader shouted.
Jennie ended up giggling at their bickering and watched them throw food at each other.
Yoongi walked into the dorm, making one of his WTF faces when he saw the chaos occurring in the dorm. Jin, Jennie and Namjoon are covered in food, and Jungkook and Tae watch Hobi run around the dorm naked with Jimin chasing him with a lobster.
“Hey, Yoongi!” She waved.
“I don’t even wanna know.” He shook his head and walked into his room.
Namjoon wiped some oatmeal from Jen’s face. “You’re going to need a shower.”
“You’re telling me. Look at you.” She gestured.
The Maknae line walk to the dining room, wondering why they were covered in food.
“We had some business to take care of,” Jin revealed.
“Want a hug?” Jennie opened her arms wide.
“NO!” Jimin shouted, taking a big step back with the guys.
“Let’s get them.” Namjoon went after Jimin.
Jennie went after Tae while Jin went after Jungkook. They run around the dorm, attempting to grab ahold of them for a hug despite being covered in food.
“Why do I associate myself with them?” Yoongi grumbled as he went to fix the mess created in the bathroom.
Like Jen said before, every day is a new adventure living in a dorm filled with the Bangtan Boys.
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the perfume on the shelf. pt. 11 | bangchan
Pairings: Bang Chan x Fem!reader, Kim Yugyeom x Fem!reader
Summary: Falling in love with your best friend was never a part of the plan. So you end it up. But does he want to put a stop to it, too?
Warnings: AU, mentions of verbal and physical abuse, descriptions of a toxic relationship, mentions of s*icidal thoughts, profanity, descritpion of a fire, the reader loves her cat very much, another day of the reader and Chan being annoying (the latter especially), jealousy, the reader is going through major changes (good for her), another bunch of Taylor Swift references, the reader has yet another traumatic experience; typos
In the parts with the cat it's very much self-inserted. Shout out to my cat and all other kitties and doggies <3
'Dal' stands for 'moon' :)
Word count: 5411
Author’s note: welp, there's a lot to read lol. Idk why this whole work lacks happy moments so much, I'm trying my best to make it more positive, but in the end... We get this lol. Still, hope you enjoy another part! I'll try posting part 12 in a couple of weeks, but, as my summer vacation is over, I'll have a lot of work to do, so I cannot promise you an exact date. Again, thank you fro reading and supporting 'the perfume on the shelf' and enjoy the ride! (put ya seatbelts on)
Disclaimer: the names and appearances of real people are used for inspiration and writing purposes only. I do not claim anything, everything belongs to its owners.
Part 10 | Part 12
Another day to cry in the bathroom of your therapist’s office.
Wiping your red cheeks, you took a deep breath in, trying to calm this sudden outburst of pain down. Talking about your unsuccessful attempt to go back together with Chan resurfaced in something deep, something that has affected you too much to even be able to handle it on your own. Your fear of rejection has finally become real - and instead of feeling calm after so many years of being scared of it, you found yourself utterly broken.
As long as you could remember yourself, this fear of being rejected has pressured you into staying out of the picture, of never saying what you truly feel. You were shaking at the thought of confessing to Yugyeom, when you were a teenager; your breath was hitched in your throat when you decided to join that writing club at university; the idea of asking anybody out made you sick to your stomach. And finally, all the mess with Chan was partially launched by your inability to ask direct questions, to come clean eventually. However, your initial choice was to live a lie, to let yourself have dust thrown into your eyes, to rather have smoke and mirrors than an honest relationship. What does this say about you?
“I don’t know”, you muttered, looking at the reflection in the mirror. “I don’t know”, you repeated, sniffing and exhaling once again. When you were nineteen, everything seemed so easy. When you were nineteen, you seemed to know everything.
“What would nineteen-year old you say about this whole situation?” Your therapist’s question was left unanswered, rather as introspection for the next two weeks. What would she say, really? That’s a walk in the park for her.
“Dump his ass”, the advice you used to give all of your girlfriends popped up in your head. “Find a new hobby, work more, go out more - do anything to forget him. He’s not worth your tears and time”. Easier said than done.
You sighed once again, before collecting your lip gloss back into your purse. It’s time to go home and prepare for going out; even though you try following your own advice, the thought of Chan is a lingering memory, a signature left right on your forever restless brain.
Running up the stairs on your subway station, you checked your messages to find Yugyeom and Eunjoo discussing art in the chat. Two weeks ago, after the airport incident, when Yugyeom was dropping you off at your apartment complex (the conversation with your parents about your early departure from the countryside was guided by Gyeom perfectly), Eunjoo caught the sight of the two of you while she was waiting for her best friend on the bench. For some reason she decided it would be a great idea to start going on ‘double dates’ - although, you could barely call them dates at all. She was unsure about her relationship with Minho, so she needed you to check up on him. You didn’t want to be the third wheel, so… So she invited Yugyeom. And now the four of you had a group chat. Was it a nightmare? Absolutely. You found out what nerds Gyeom and Eunjoo were; discussing everything - even rocket science, are you kidding me? - while you and Minho intervened in their intellectual conversations with memes and ridiculous videos to watch. For instance, when you sent a Tarot reading video, just for shits and giggles, just to send a follow up message, “This woman said I’m gonna have a billionaire husband in a couple of months” - only to get bashed by two absolute smartasses for your silly little hobby, as they threw in their pieces of mind on how Tarot is a scam, and it doesn’t work, and people like that woman are a fraud - et cetera, et cetera, blah-blah-blah. Minho, on the other hand, was pretty supportive (and a pain in the ass for Eunjoo and Yugyeom) when he sent in ten more videos of that same creator, chiming in with his comments about toxicity. Yeah, this chat was a shit show; however, it was bringing you too much joy to hate it.
In your apartment your cat greeted you with irritated meows and sweet purrs when you took her in your arms as if she was a baby. “Mama’s sorry, Gaeul”, you said, kissing her in between ears, “but I promise I’ll be back sooner than later. Just a couple of hours, okay?” She started gently biting your hand as you tried to scratch her tummy. “And you get to be the boss of the house. Not just for a few hours”, you kissed her nose and she put her paw on your cheek, “but forever, Gaeul”. She jumped from your arms as soon as you heard a loud stomp and a screeching curse - ugh, your neighbours were fighting again. How could a family that looks picture perfect hate each other so much? Well, you knew the answer to the question, but still, it never failed to arise every time you heard these two fight.
“You’re a piece of shit, Hajoon!” You sighed as you heard the man’s voice. “A piece of shit wife and mother!” This was the unfortunate reality-TV-turned-real-life program you had to listen to; the walls were rather thin not to hear them constantly fight over stupidest things in front of their little girls. When you saw the two of them ride their bikes and laugh, you always wondered, how they managed not to lose their innocence yet - with parents like theirs, who trapped themselves in a toxic marriage, the innocence of a child being saved was a miracle.
The drama continued as the woman cried out harsher curses, accusing her husband of cheating. Is that the life that awaits everyone in a marriage? Is that the life you’re going to have too? That’s what your parents have; constant fights, verbal abuse, toxic apologies with flowers and luxury candy, and no words uttered. No resolution of those conflicts, no rethinking of the life choices they’d made to get to this point of no return. Nothing. And this family, a family so similar to yours, was the same. Only the girls were lucky to have each other and not to be alone. However, calling the kids ‘lucky’ for lulling each other when their parents scream all types of insults, calling the children they created with ‘so much love and affection’, as the mother posted on her stories, ‘mistakes’ when they were in another room - calling them ‘lucky’ was a direct insult.
Accompanied by curses coming from a wall away from your living room, Gaeul was circling around you the whole time you were collecting your things. When you looked at the wrist watch, it was already ten minutes past the time you should have left the house. “Shit”, you mumbled, rapidly taking the bag in your hands and giving Gaeul a couple of more scratches, while she was meowing and standing in front of the door. “I’ll see you in a couple of hours, sweetie”.
You were supposed to be drinking as the four of you were going for some type of party one of Minho’s friends was throwing - so taking the car wasn’t an option; you didn’t know much about Changbin, but you were willing to get out of your shell and meet new people. “Maybe you’ll finally find a boyfriend there”, your mom told you over the phone, “you’ll be thirty soon - not really soon, though - and your father and I are waiting for grandkids. Your cousin is already a mother”. Ugh, yeah, whatever. Some nonsense that your mother confidently states is out of this world sometimes.
Running up to a bus stop, you conveniently saw your bus pull up; jumping in it, you paid for the ticket and sat down on one of the many empty places, staring out of the window. As the music took you to another dimension, your thoughts flew by, pictures of your mother nagging you about the prospect of marriage, Chan putting his arm over Micha’s shoulder, Gyeom stuffing his mouth with a sandwich in one bite, Eunjoo and Minho holding hands ran in your mind with a uncontrollably rapid speed. You were thinking about Chan less each day, the images of him being replaced by your friends, new people you met and surprising revelations you made about this world and, first of all, yourself.
Every bus ride that lasted more than twenty minutes - just like this one - got you hooked on rethinking and reflecting on every little thing that had ever happened to you. Sometimes it would be sappy, rainy autumn day like memories: Chan holding your hand while driving, bringing it to his lips to leave a small kiss on your knuckles every time the car stopped at the red light; you and him lying in bed, face to face, heart to heart, having those rare sincere conversations, filled with laughs and kisses. Whereas sometimes you’d lose yourself to cheerful moments, those July bright yellow afternoon days memories, with Yugyeom watching you chase after his golden retriever Dal; with you watching some happy kids fly kites while on a picnic with Eunjoo; with you writing your earliest stories in your old diary, sitting behind the desk in you sunlit childhood bedroom. The happiest that you were, in all of those memories you couldn’t even find the ghost of Chan; as if he had never existed in the most joyful moments of your life. As if - no, no ‘if’s’ - he had only brought you pain, and tears, and gut wrenching disgust towards your own self, towards the little girl, singing along the radio songs in her parents’ car, towards the fifteen year old girl, who wrote her stories on her old laptop and squealed after getting her first likes on the web, towards the woman you’d become. The woman who made stupid mistakes one after another, noticing but not seeing the pattern she had with every lover of hers, not seeing Chan being the same guy like the rest of them in her history. The woman you’d become, the woman you’re still thriving to be - she doesn’t deserve the slander you put her through.
There might have been happiness during him - his jokes, warm hugs, car rides to his parents’ country house, him playing with Gaeul, his voice, his soft curls, his late love confessions. But there would certainly be more happiness after him, after this whole mess you yourself created. No acid rains burning your cheeks anymore, no scratching yourself so much you start bleeding anymore, no gray colors during the brightest sunny summer mornings. Is this what the phase of acceptance looks like? Is this where you stop blaming Chan for the pain he caused you? Nah, you’re not there yet. But close. Definitely close.
Receiving another text in the group chat, your thoughts suddenly led you to the anxious search for your ID in the handbag of yours. “Shit, shit, shit”, you muttered under your breath, when you realized it was nowhere to be found. Did you lose it on your way to the bus stop? Or did you lose it here? Oh no. You rolled your eyes at the clear memory of seeing it on the kitchen counter before you rushed out of the apartment. How could you be so irresponsible? You’d never forgotten your ID, ever in your life, even taking it to the convenience store at 7AM to get a snack on your day off. And now, when you clearly needed it to get in the club, you’d left it at home? Super responsible, girl, just awesome.
Having jumped off the bus at the nearest stop, you caught yourself feeling absolutely shameless about the fact of being late. After you moved almost to the outskirts of the city, not being on time has become your signature mark. Now you were texting your friends, explaining the whole situation, while getting in an Uber - just to shorten the forty minutes you’d already spent on the bus to twenty-five. And as the car started off, your friends couldn’t leave you alone.
“Gyeom, I’m sorry”. The first words you said to him after picking up, annoyance recognizable in your voice. Yeah, you were the one being late, but Mr. Punctuality didn’t have to remind you about it as well.
“I’m actually late too”, he let out a breathy chuckle. What? Kim Yugyeom coming late?
“What happened?”
“Nothing”, he sighed, “I just spent too much time on the phone with my dad”. You hummed in response. “I can pick you up, by the way”, Yugyeom added.
“You don’t have to”.
“Ah, it’s not like I’m goin’ to be on time anyway”. The yippy notes in his voice made you reflect the smile he was probably wearing on his face. “So it’s not a problem, really”.
“Thanks, Gyeom”.
“I’ll be at your place in, uh, around ten minutes”. As you ended the conversation, you heard the siren sounds in the distance. It wasn’t an unordinary occasion: the song of the sirens was playing almost an unstoppable tune every minute of the day, as the ambulances were rushing through the busy streets, or the firemen were driving to stop the fires. It was not unusual for a city like Seoul; however, the closer you were getting to your apartment complex, the more the clump of fear inside your chest grew.
The first thing you saw when the car turned to your building was the blinding light of the fire truck. Then it was the group of firemen. After it was the crowd, surrounding the fire engine. The last thing was the smoke coming out of the apartment on the fifth floor. From the apartment right next to yours.
Jumping off the car, you rushed through the crowd, forcibly pushing apart the nosy neighbors and bystanders, only to be stopped by a firefighter. You couldn’t think of anything else, of other people, of the party you were late to, of the things in your apartment - the only image in your head was of Gaeul. How scared she must be, how she’s probably sitting in the corner of your room, far away from the strange and dangerous smell. The clouded vision of yours, the tears in your eyes were invisible to you. The only thing you needed was to get your baby out of there.
“Miss, you cannot go in there”, the voice of the firemen echoed in your ears.
“My cat’s in there”, you mumbled, but he heard you, “I need to get her out. It’s an apartment right next to that that’s burning”.
“We’ll get her out, no need to worry”. The calm notes in his voice had awoken some primal rage in you - how could he even say that? You couldn’t not worry, for fuck’s sake!
You quickly disappeared in the crowd so that the firefighter wouldn't recognise you if something was about to happen. There was an emergency exit, but they were probably evacuating people through it, right? What should you do to get in?
As the thoughts were rapidly running through your head, you saw smoke coming from another window. Your window now. Your heart sank; everything around started spinning slowly and you grabbed your chest in order to calm yourself down - at least, a little bit, at least, before you took Gaeul in your arms.
Fuck it. You hastened your steps through the crowd, away from the main entrance, in hopes to get lost amidst those being evacuated, in hopes to get through the emergency exit without being caught. In the inner yard of your building your restless, teary eyes noticed one fireman guarding the entrance; and over there, on the bench was your neighbour from the fourth floor, a fourteen year old, holding her brown dog close to her heart.
“Hello?” She picked up her phone, the shaky voice of hers bringing more blood to your already jolting heart. How smart it was to exchange numbers with her all those months ago.
“Could you distract that firefighter for me, please?” You uttered, while looking at her. She turned her head and found your eyes. “My cat’s still in there. I can’t… I can’t wait till they save her. Please”. The girl nodded and quickly rose up to her feet, probably coming up with an idea of taking the fireman’s attention.
She ran up to the man, still holding the dog in her arms, and started rambling something loudly, the hysteric condition of hers being the direct result of this horrible evening. “What was she up to?” You thought to yourself as you moved from a tree to a tree as fast as you could. “Was she walking her dog when the fire started? Was she at home?”
How convenient it was to have a bunch of trees to grow in the inner yard of the apartment building. “I should thank the managing lady after it”, you watched as the firefighter turned his back to the entrance - now. The adrenaline in your stomach felt like a fuel to the fire of anxiety and fear; as you leapt up the stairs, two, three steps missed, your heart was pumping somewhere in your throat, bringing the inevitable, horrible thoughts to your brain. You brushed them off before you reached your floor, running in the corridor, which was filled with smoke, with an empty head. The door to your apartment was being broken down as you ran up to it, right on time - maybe, the first time you were not late in the last couple of years. The firefighters weren’t pleased a resident was out in the dangerous area, but you quickly opened the door - having promised you’d let them in without getting inside yourself - breaking the recently made promise immediately when the lock was open, dropping the keys to the ground. If the building management had fixed the electronic locks on time, maybe the whole building wouldn’t have to use keys; maybe, the fire issue would have been resolved earlier, had the firemen had an easier access to the apartments.
Gray. Choking color gray - that's what your apartment was. You could get suffocated in here just for breathing in the smoke, but was it even a priority? You would die but get Gaeul out of this place.
“Gaeul!” Your voice came out quaking, eyes getting watery with every step you took. “Gaeul, baby!” Almost flying into your bedroom, you noticed her scratching the window in hopeless attempts to get out. “Baby, you’re safe”, you whispered, swooping her in your arms. She let out a weak meow as you covered her chubby face with a palm of your hand. The firefighter was quick to escort you from the apartment, having thrown a blanket from the couch over your shoulders. You wrapped Gaeul in it when you got to the hall; she was meowing as you ran down the stairs, telling you how scared she was. “I know, honey, I know”, you kept on repeating, “you’re safe now”.
The fresh air hit both of your faces abruptly, making you gasp and cough. Holding Gaeul as close to your heart as it was possible - perhaps, if you squeezed her tighter, she would be inserted in your heart directly - you sat down on the grass next to the girl with a dog sleeping on her lap.
“Is she okay?” You nodded, leaving a kiss between Gaeul’s brown ears. She started purring, exuding that velvety purring of hers that signaled of her finally feeling safe. After finding her in a pouring rain, as her dirty little paws left marks on your white hoodie and her squeaky voice notified you she wasn’t pleased with being carried by some stranger, after washing her up and taking her to the vet, after making sure she felt comfortable in every corner of any of the places where you lived, after teaching her to use the litter box, after buying her the most expensive and delicious food she liked, after having her sleep in between your legs every night since the first one she spent with you, after building up your whole life around her when you needed someone to give your unconditional love to, after having no suicidal thoughts the moment she took a step in your apartment, after having her as the only living creature who loved you unlimitedly - how could you sit and wait till they save her? How could you leave her little figure in the hands of fate?
“Mr. Choi set his apartment on fire”, the girl said while petting her dog. “That’s entirely his fault”.
“Tell me about it”, you mumbled.
“Why didn't the police do anything when they were called on them last week?” She questioned. “He literally threatened to burn the house down”. You shrugged your shoulders. No one really did anything when he threatened to jump off the window, no one took his threats seriously when he promised to burn the apartment if his wife got on his nerves again. Yeah, like it’s a reasonable excuse for a possible homicide. What a scumbag.
“He ran away though”. She sighed. “But they’ll find him in no time, I guess. Mrs. Choi said he broke his wrist trying to hit her, so he won’t be far away”. You nodded absentmindedly, eyes still focused on Gaeul. She already seemed peaceful, only her yellowish eyes still being completely overtaken by the dilated pupils. She was lying on your legs, covered by that blanket. “Isn’t it your phone buzzing?”
Oh, that was the annoying feeling in the pocket of your jeans. “Hello”. You responded in a monotonous voice.
“Where are you?” Yugyeom sounded panicked. “I’ve been calling you for the past ten minutes! Are you okay? Where are you?” He repeated. After muttering a few words you hung up, putting the phone on the grass. The autumn nights started to get chilly; but you were willing to stay seated on the cold ground as long as it took for Gaeul to fully calm down.
In mere seconds Yugyeom appeared in the inner yard, dashing to you. “Are you okay?” He observed you carefully, and then the gaze of his fell to Gaeul, curled up on your lap. “Are you okay, sweetling?”
“She ran into the building to save her cat”, your neighbor proudly proclaimed. Yugyeom gave a look - not the ‘Are you crazy?’ or ‘You’re insane’ one, but the look, striking as… Worry? Pain? Hurt? Love?
“I think the two of you need some warming up”. His soft voice impinged upon your indifference to everything but Gaeul; it seemed as if the part of you that was scared started to heal as soon as he helped you get on your feet. For the first time in the last half an hour you shivered under the cool wind, and Yugyeom took his zipper hoodie off to put it on your shoulders.
“You’re wearing a T-shirt”. You stated, looking at him. He gave you a small smile and shrugged his shoulders.
“I like the cold. I’m like Johnny Storm, y’know that”. You let out a breathy laugh - the first one after pulling up to the building. Your cat was already napping in your arms - the safest place for her, as it turned out - so you and Yugyeom slowly moved to his car.
The windows of your neighbors had ruined the whole front of the building - now the gaze of any person would fall on black frames around them. “I wonder if my landlady is here”. You said, when getting on the passenger seat.
“D’you want me to find her?”
“Gyeom, no”, you answered in a soft voice, ‘you’ve already done enough”. His brows knitted as he looked at you with utter confusion written all over his face.
“I didn’t do anything except for panicking and calling Minho and Eunjoo”, he noted, “and not like it’s hard to help you. Especially now”.
You gave in rather quickly. “Alright”.
“Give me her number, so I-”
“Just take my phone”, you shoved the device in his hands, “she doesn’t pick up if she doesn’t know the number”. He nodded before getting out of the car.
And as you were petting your sleepy cat, you felt the tears being finally let go from your eyes. Gaeul woke up when the salty drops fell on her side and, after staring at you for a couple seconds, started to licking herself up. You laughed through the choking tears and caressed her head and back, thinking how much your life had changed since the moment she magically appeared in it. It became… Brighter, funnier, sweeter. Even when she would wake you up at three AM ‘cause she was hungry; or when she would try to eat the yarn whenever you crocheted; or when she would sit on the kitchen counter while you were cooking. The thought of losing her made your heart hurt even more than it already was.
“We’ll be fine, right, baby?” You murmured when she started snoring quietly; you turned your head to look out of the window and noticed Gyeom in the distance, still talking with someone over the phone. A strange feeling of being absolutely safe around him had arisen in your chest the moment you saw his worried face tonight; maybe you shouldn’t push him away too hard - he’s one of the few people you can trust, after all.
Gyeom was right; he cannot certainly save you like he used to when you were kids. You can come up with a rescue plan yourself, like today, when you couldn’t wait for anyone else to save the most loved part of you. Anyone but you. Gyeom cannot save you; but he can give you the sense of comfort after you help yourself get back to life.
“Gaeul”, you muttered, “how long it’s been since we called him ‘Gyeom’?” A short version of his name, and he hated being called that. But when it came to you, his first love? He blushed whenever you said ‘Gyeom’. And why did you start calling him that again? Maybe that’s a sign, you thought to yourself, leaning your head back, maybe I do need him around.
“So you mean to tell me”, Jisung was talking with his mouth full, “that you and Micha are not together? What’s the point of bringing her here then?”
Chan let out a deep sigh. It was only a matter of time when Han found out. “We are together. But we just don’t like labeling it as a ‘relationship’ Just give us some more time”.
“ Are you kiddin’ me? It’s been two weeks, Chan!” He gnashed his teeth. “Every media outlet is calling me to confirm whether the two of you are together. What am I supposed to tell them?”
“That it’s none of their business”.
“It doesn't work anymore. Is she your girlfriend or not?”
“She is, technically”, Chris leaned in his chair, “we’re in an open relationship”. Jisung set his palms down flat on the table, the heavy breathing of his sending shivers down Chan’s spine. He loved riling his friend up, but sometimes he seemed to forget Han was also his manager. A scary one at times.
“I swear to God”, Jisung hissed, “I’m gonna kill you and replace you with another dude. No one will see a difference”. Chris chuckled and went back to his dinner, leaving Han’s question unanswered.
Him and Micha had a lot of history; but when he showed up at her door, drunk to the bone, she was more than shocked. He kept on complaining, crying about you, cursing you, proclaiming his love for you. Micha was impressed only by him being that emotional - nothing like that ever happened when they were together. A couple of days later one thing led to another and… Some time after that she was already packing her bags to go to Melbourne with him. Was it a smart, calculated decision? Absolutely not. But Chan, for whatever reason, promised to support her financially before she’d find a job there; alright, to be honest? He wanted to hurt you. To hurt you the same way your reconciliation with Yugyeom made him feel. Chan wanted to see you suffer as much as he did, to see you try to beg for him to come back to you. Spoiler alert: you never did.
Except for the airport incident. He almost caught the slightest glimpse of you, almost canceled his entire flight, almost called off all the business he had in Australia. If only he could delve into your features one more time, he would’ve put everyone aside. ‘Cause if you were there and he saw you, he wouldn’t need anything else. But he didn’t see you, so it was all settled as it was supposed to be.
Han was grumbling something under his breath while Chan was scrolling down the latest news; some of his friends had a comeback coming up, the other was starring in a new drama, the third proposed to his girlfriend… Everyone seemed to have their life put together but him. When he laid in bed, staring at the ceiling, Micha’s head resting on his arm, Chan would only think about a life he gave away. He could’ve been lying in his bed now, with his head snuggled into your neck, inhaling that sweet scent of yours right into his system. He could’ve been waking up to your leg lapped across his. He could’ve been with the woman he’s in love with, not the one he pretends to love. Micha doesn’t deserve this; but something tells him that she knows - just pretends not to notice.
‘Hey, doesn’t this house seem familiar to you?” Han shoved his phone right into Chan’s face; when his eyes could finally focus, he recognised the building immediately. “They report it’s been a fire, they’re still locating it”, Jisung continued, “and the guy who started it wanted to kill his family. What a piece of shit”.
The only thing Chan could see was smoke coming out from the apartment scarily close to yours. He was unable to forget the window of yours, the window he would always look up to just to see your smiley face. “Can I borrow your phone?”
Jisung swallowed his food, looking confused. “What for?”
“I need to call her”. Han rolled his eyes but obliged, lending the phone to his friend. Chan practically jumped from his seat, running from the second floor of the restaurant they were in to the street. Chan was aware of you blocking him everywhere; so he hoped you’d pick up if Han called. What was that logic? Why would you even pick up?
If the fire was still being located, how big is it? Were you home when it started? Were you not? Is Gaeul okay?
Long beeps only fueled his anxiety. Pick up, pick up, pick up. Please.
“Hello?” The voice on the other side of the phone wasn’t the silky one Chan was hoping to hear.
Chan asked for your name. Was it a cop? A firefighter? A doctor? “She’s okay, she wasn’t home when the fire broke out”.
“Who am I talkin’ to?”
“Kim Yugyeom. I’m a friend. You?”
Another tingling in his chest, every little blood cell of his running to his head, fueling his rage and pain, mixing them altogether. So, Yugyeom is there? After all of your claims he meant nothing to you?
“Hello?” Yugyeom asked once again. “Say your name at least, so that she’d know whom to call back”.
“Don’t you see the name on the screen?” Chan’s words came out harsher than he planned. “Sorry, whatever. Don’t tell her anything”. Chris hung up the phone and let out an exasperated sigh. Rubbing his face with his hands, Chan couldn’t even comprehend what he was feeling. Why was the mere thought of you and Yugyeom in the same space bringing him the worst pain of it all? It was jealousy. It was all the love he couldn’t properly give you resulting in that horrendous feeling of envy. The feeling that Yugyeom might give this love to you. The love that you deserve.
How long will he continue pining over you? Maybe he should just start paying more attention to his actual girlfriend rather than the dream woman of his?
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