#jinau

We asked two friends some questions individually, to see both sides of their story.

You and Jin walk to the chairs designated for you.

"Wait – I get this chair so it shows my best side." You say, as you nudged Jin aside before he could even take the seat to the left of the camera.

"Fine. Both sides are my best sides, so I don’t mind." He replies, and the sound of the staff chuckling behind the camera is heard.

He sits down on the opposite chair as the camera zooms in on you jokingly rolling your eyes.

It cuts to you guys introducing yourselves.

"Hi, I’m Kim Seokjin." He says to the camera, but his eyes wander awkwardly and he hides his face a little before chuckling.

"This is kinda embarrassing." He says.

"Hi! I’m ___." You speak to the camera with a slight chirp and even a wave when it pans toward you.

"You’re good at this." Jin’s voice says off camera.

"I barely said anything," you remarked as you got handed the noise-canceling headphones and let out a small thank you and bowed to the staff.

"Oh! So we’re getting started right away?" Says Jin

How did you guys first meet?

His side

Jin was about to answer when you started bobbing your head furiously.

"I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights," you whisper-sing and then mouthed the next line before laughing at Jin’s annoyed face.

"She chose this playlist, didn’t she?"

"Uhm.." It cuts to Jin looking at you as he thinks, "I think it was freshman orientation week? Yeah, I remember her approaching me and asking if she was in the right philosophy class. She sat next to me, and then after that, she started sitting next to me the rest of the semester. That was six years ago."

The clip shows you leaning forward a little with a focused look as you stare at his face.

"She’s trying to read my lips." Jin covers your view of his mouth with one hand. "And it’s just the first question." 

It cuts to you handing the phone and headphones to Jin. "Careful with that; it’s really loud."

Her side

"I sat next to him in philosophy class during freshman year because I thought--" you chuckle and cover your mouth, "he seemed like the type of guy who gets really good grades. He had this really cute pink baseball cap on and a pair of glasses. I thought he looked quite handsome."

You pause for a bit, and with widened eyes, you slap your palm on your mouth. You looked at the staff behind the camera and said, "Wait! I just realized he’s gonna watch this and hear that I called him handsome." You mutter a small damn it that was caught by the mic.

Meanwhile, Jin sat up straight and looked back and forth between you and the staff.

"What? What’s going on?" He says, and the staff’s laughter can be heard.

"You’re. an. idiot." you slowly mouth to him, and he focuses on reading your lips.

"You’re an idiot?" he whispered under his breath before realizing what you said and leaning back against his chair. He rolled his eyes at you and flipped you off, but his hand was blurred out by the editor.

Both sides

"Oh! Right—see, it was that philosophy class wasn’t it?" He says with a clap of his hands.

"Yeah, yeah – do you remember what I was wearing?" You asked him and fiddled with the headphones.

"Uhhh.. it was like a dress, like a floral dress?"

"What?!" you exclaimed, your eyes widening, "I never– what?"

He rolls his eyes,"Yes, it was a floral dress, remember? Orientation week."

"Orientation week?"

"Yes!" he lets out an exasperated laugh, "You asked me if it was Mr. Song’s philosophy class."

"Oh my god, that was you?!" You laugh. "I was wondering why you said dress. Yes, I wore a dress once but only during orientation week, but I don’t remember talking to you." You laugh again. "I just remember your pink cap, was that not orientation?" You add

"That was the second week, you idiot. You wore a hoodie then." He retorted.

What is your most fond memory of your friendship?

His side

"I was dealing with a really bad breakup – like, I think this was four years ago? Yeah," he scratches at the back of his neck "but I had to write something for this screenwriting class I was taking, so I locked myself up in my dorm room and didn’t contact anyone. I buried myself with schoolwork and barely did anything outside of that – even sleeping or eating." He chuckles as he looks back on the memory.

"Then two days later, she comes banging on the door, telling me to get my shit together. It was harsh, actually–sort of like a tough love situation. But I needed that. I was neglecting myself – and it took her snapping at me like that to wake me up. I think I was on the brink of passing out from over-fatigue, but she saved me from that."

"She stayed with me, made sure I was eating and staying hydrated. She even slept on the couch at one point just to make sure I was getting enough sleep as well—yeah, that was…" He trails off and chuckles as he looks at you, swaying your body side to side to what he assumes is a Michael Bublé song [he was certain it was in your playlist somewhere]. 

"I would say it was a fond memory because it really solidified her place in my life. Like– relationships come and go, you know? But I knew I wanted her to stay in my life forever, to snap me out of it when I’m spiraling out of control." He continues.

Her side

You fiddle with the phone a bit before sitting back in your chair.

"Frank Sinatra. So he gets distracted and doesn't try to read my lips" You say to the camera, and then a satisfied smile when he starts mouthing the words to ‘Fly Me To The Moon’.

"When our family dog Chichi died and I was in the middle of an important 3-day seminar in a different city," you start off. "I couldn’t go home for the weekend at that time because of it, so he offered to go for me—at my family home, I mean. So he drove there and stayed with my family, video calling me almost the entire time just so I could feel present. It really felt like I had sent Chichi away properly, you know? even if I wasn’t there.

"Needless to say, my grandma has been very fond of him since then. She told me that if Jin and I had a falling out for whatever reason, she would keep him and disown me." You laugh and throw your head back a little, earning a small smile from Jin.

"So I was like, damn, okay, I’m keeping him for life I guess. Don’t wanna disappoint grandma, you know?"

Both Sides

"What did you say?" You ask as Jin places the phone and headphones on his lap and he ruffles his hair.

"The one– my breakup with *beep* " Jin panics slightly and turns to face the producer, saying, "Wait, can you please bleep that out, I don't want my ex to know." He squeaks out a laugh 

"Wait but for real, when I got that call from Joon—that was his dorm mate by the way—I got really worried." You recall with a slight frown.

"Oh, yeah—I was so annoyed because it was like, 'You dare become dehydrated? Not on my watch!’" You said with a laugh.

"Yeah." He smiled fondly, "What about you?"

"Chichi," you say with a pout, and he coos.

"Right, yeah." He said in a small voice. "But hey, me and granny had the time of our lives that weekend, I ate so many cookies." He adds with a grin.

"Whatever." You rolled your eyes.

Were there any big fights you can remember?

His Side

Jin lets out a boisterous laugh, his body leaning forward and almost falling off the chair. The camera catches you looking at him, brows furrowed in confusion and a little concerned.

"I-" Jin stops and coughs a little, then looks at you, knitting your eyebrows at him. "Fucking cheesecake." He says, and your laughter can be heard off camera—as it is currently zoomed in on him.

"I know she’s gonna think of the same story, so I’m letting her tell it." He let out some of the residual laughter left in him before asking you to take off the headphones.

Her Side

You were laughing uncontrollably that it was kind of hard to breathe.

"Wait, that is it?" You ask as he asks for the headphones and nods. You put it on his head and smile.

"Sorry, I just—I saw him mouth the word cheesecake and I lost it."

The scene cuts to you shaking your head, "See, I knew it would be a question like that." You giggle.

"So. The Cheesecake incident," you start off. "It was one of those times in college when everyone was stressed—it was one of those ‘hell weeks’ as we call it. So, tension and stress were high for everyone, and we were no exception. One day after class, I went home to find him munching on something in my apartment’s kitchen.

"So a little context for this, there’s this really good bakery two hours away from campus, and whenever I go there I buy a whole thing of this amazing, out of this world cheesecake. 

"So I saw him and I was like, ‘hey! Is that my fucking cheesecake?’ He said ‘yeah’ and immediately I started yelling at him about how it was so inconsiderate of him to eat it without my permission, and then he started going off about 'it's just a fucking cheesecake!’" You laugh and look at him trying to look innocent.

"So at one point, we were fighting over the box of cake in the kitchen, and of course, it plomps to the floor – I mean, what else do you expect to happen?

"So it fell on the floor right, and at that moment we just stopped and stared at it – then at each other. A few moments later, he grabs his fork and sits down – he starts eating it off the floor!" You cover your face with your hands.

"I don't know what dawned over me because I got my own fork and ate with him – we both looked like fucking idiots. We started apologizing to each other because, I swear to god we have never yelled at each other that much since we met." You started laughing uncontrollably again, and then waved your hand.

"Wait! Disclaimer, we ate the parts that didn't touch the floor – I don't want people to think we're disgusting."

Both Sides

“You told them about the cheesecake?”

“Yeah.”

“Good times.”

What is the biggest secret that you’ve never told the other person?

His Side

"Oh god, here we go. Is this the last one?" He asks someone off screen.

"Right. Save the juiciest for last."

He contemplates a little before talking.

"So uhm… fuck." He laughs nervously.

"I.. It was three years ago. We were hanging out in her apartment, and I guess she saw it from the internet because she was on her phone at that time.

"She asked me if I would still be friends with her even if she was a worm." He started giggling and shaking his head. "So fucking stupid. Anyway, I immediately said no, and she just rolled her eyes at me and moved on.

"But it got me thinking, reevaluating what she means to me, and then it struck me. I would love her no matter what. I would love her even on days when she's so cranky she doesn't even like talking to me. I would love her on days we're both so stressed that we eat cheesecake off the floor." He throws his head back in laughter.

"I'm in love with her— fuck I'm in love with her." He looks at you with your eyes closed, swinging your body to a mellow song.

Her Side

"Oh! Here we go. I was waiting for that one." You said that and faced him. You saw him look intently at you, like he was gonna try to read your lips to see what you would say. You let out an exhale before gesturing for him to close his eyes, and he does.

"So, remember what I said about that day I first saw him during Philosophy class? Yeah. I’ve developed a big fat crush on him since then. God, I can’t believe I’m saying this out loud.

"Okay, so it was a crush—was, because it did start out like that. But the thing is, not soon after that, he got into a relationship — and it was a serious one too. So that crush was crushed immediately." You wink at the camera. "Pun intended." Before proceeding, you check to see if Jin's eyes are still closed.

"It started out as a crush, but it lasted three years—and you know what they say about a crush lasting a certain time before it turns into something else? Yeah.. But then I drew the line at that three-year mark. I thought, ‘this cannot continue,’ and even after he and his girlfriend had broken up, I didn’t try to act on it, because I didn’t want to ruin our friendship." You laugh bitterly.

"Broke my heart, man. But I guess that’s on me. I was a coward." You dropped your gaze to your hands before letting out a breath of relief.

"Oh man, that felt so good to get off my chest." You smile at the camera briefly before switching your gaze to Jin.

Both Sides

Jin stretches his arms and lets out a grunt, "What did you say?"

"Oh, it was so juicy that you’re going to have to wait until this video comes out to find out." You reply while you wiggle your brows.

"Really? I bet it got nothing on what I had to say." He says to you in a low voice, looking at you intently.

"Doubt that. Guess we’re gonna have to find out, huh?"

The video shows a clip of the both of you posing silly for the camera, signaling the end of the video.

—

Jin taps the spacebar once and immediately snaps his body to face you.

"You…" he trails off, and a moment of silence surrounds you.

"I can't believe your romantic epiphany about me was triggered by me asking you if you'd still be friends with me even if I was a worm." You said, and just like that, the stiff tension between you was broken and he laughed.

A few beats of silence pass before he speaks again.

"You were in love with me?" he asks.

"You’re in love with me?" you ask back.

He rolls his eyes and says, "Don’t answer my question with another question."

You huff. "Fine. I was in love with you. Ugh, cringe." You roll your eyes playfully. He collects your hands and encloses them with his, forcing you to look at him.

"Hey, I know humor is your coping mechanism, but we have to talk about this."

You close your eyes for a moment before sighing. "Fine."

"Why didn’t you tell me?" He asks in a meek voice, as if he was scared.

"Because," you started off as you gestured with your hands, "like I said, I didn’t plan on acting on it. I didn’t want to risk this." You pointed at the two of you. "I was scared, so I stored it in a box and buried it in the deepest corner of my mind." You add.

You see a flash of hope pass through his eyes. "Then, will you dig it up? Will you try with me?" You don’t speak for a moment too long, so he brings your hands up to his lips and places a chaste kiss on it. "I love you, and I’m hoping you still love me too. I know it's scary, as you mentioned, but I'd like to give it a shot with you. I think—no, I know that we’ll be great together." He looks at you with a desperate look in his eyes, and you soften.

"Okay." You reply after a few seconds, and his eyes widen.

"Really?" His voice cracked and you felt your heart drop from your chest.

"Really, you idiot, I just told you." You rolled your eyes playfully at him, and he chuckled, leaning his forehead against yours.

"Can I kiss you?" He asks, and you don’t verbally reply but you lean in and go for it.

It felt perfect. It was the sweetest kiss you have ever experienced, and you’re glad you’re sharing it with him. It felt like the easiest thing in the world, like it was the most natural thing to do. You let out a small whine when he pulls away, but he cradles your cheek and you lean into his warmth.

"I still have that cap, you know? The one you thought I looked handsome in." He let out a devilish smirk.

"Shut up."

—

Bonus Post-credit scene

"and I take a deep breath and I get real high and I scream from the top of my lungs, What's going on?" Jin belts out as the staff adjusts the lighting since the outside was now darker as seen through the window. You scooched your chair closer and removed the headphones from his ears.

"Take this off for a second, you might ruin your eardrums." You placed the phone and the headphones on his lap, being careful not to get the cords tangled.

"Oop, okay." He shook his head and fixed his hair. He then brought up a hand to pinch your cheek.

"Thanks for looking out for me." He said in a soft voice.

You smile, your eyes crinkling up. "Always."

[Fade to black]

—