Jungkook would probably want to thank her for this, actually. Chaerin smirked as she took another bite of her food. She could feel Seijin’s confused eyes still on her, and she hoped that Seijin wasn’t going to say anything. She could explain everything later if she just holds off her questions-

“Chaerin, are you and Jungkook fake?” she almost looked hurt at the idea. Chaerin didn’t understand why she looked so upset when it had nothing to do with her.

“Yep, they are as fake as can be,” Irene laughed with a smirk on her face, “Jongin almost got her to admit it, but at this point I don’t need that proof. I know that the two of them devised a plan to deceive their friends.”

Seijin was surprisingly buying into every word that came out of Irene’s mouth as Chaerin slightly winced. She started to develop another friend and she was having a lot of fun with her. It didn’t feel nice to know that Seijin was being drawn away from her because of Irene.

It’s not like Irene is going to do anything about Jungkook and I, Chaerin sighed as her mind was almost made up.

“We started out as fake, yes,” Chaerin confirmed as Seijin looked slightly defeated, “But- I promise you that we are real right now.”

Nari nodded in confirmation as Irene’s eyes widened.

“Oh, now that’s funny,” a bitter laugh left her lips, “You’re so embarrassed to admit the truth to your new friend that you’re inventing lies?”

“I ended up falling in love with him after the first few weeks. Not that long ago, we declared our relationship as real. With our original agreement, I never promised to marry him. If we weren’t real, I wouldn’t be marrying him next month.” she explained as she stared at her food. Her eyes slightly glanced at Seijin, and to her luck, she seemed to believe her.

“I don't believe that,” Irene rolled her eyes as she glanced at Seijin, “what about you?”

Seijin just looked at Irene and immediately nodded in agreement with Irene. Chaerin could tell it wasn't genuine as Seijin cleared her throat and gave Chaerin a slight smile.

The dinner seemed to finally come to a close as everyone finished with their dishes. Irene spent most of the time glaring at Chaerin when she thought that she wouldn't notice.

Thankfully for the three of them, they were able to slip out of the place right after paying a whole paycheck worth of money for the food. Chaerin knew that she could easily ask Jungkook for the money back from it, but despite the cries her bank check was making, she told herself that she wouldn't.

They all headed back to the hotel in a taxi hosted by a guy who was very irritable. Nari would be lying if she didn't think that it had something to do with the fact that they all looked like they had money.

Seijin covered the money for the ride as the driver glared at them. He was obviously expecting a huge tip, and was super upset when Seijin didn't bother to give him a tip at all.

“Do the guys know that?” Seijin suddenly asked when they walked back into the room. Chaerin glanced at her and took a deep breath before shrugging.

“I doubt it. The only one who knows is Taehyung that I know of,” she admitted as Seijin placed her purse on the bed she was going to sleep in. She shrugged off her coat that she had on before she opened her mouth to speak.

“If you ask me, your situation is kind of romantic,” she lightly smiled as Nari and Chaerin sat on the bed the two of them were going to share, “you two started out as fake but fell in love along the way. It honestly sounds like something that only happens in romance novels.”

Chaerin smiled as a blush started appearing on her face, “it sure didn't feel like a romance novel. Everything was going wrong for so long since I thought he didn't feel the same way. It was rough more than romantic.”

Seijin continued smiling, “but the two of you are together now, and everything has ended happily, right? There isn't anything that you’re worried about anymore, is there?”

Chaerin took a deep breath and looked up in thought, “Well, I guess it would be nice to know when he actually ended up falling in love with me. He’s never really told me. He knows when I did, but I don't know when he did…”

Nari couldn't help but get an uneasy feeling as she thought about it. The night that Jungkook had shamelessly flirted with her started to flash before her eyes. She tried to forget it, but an aching in her stomach wouldn't let her.

There was only a three week interval between when he flirted with her and when they officially got together. Sure, feelings can change that quick, but it still bugged her. Jungkook was in search for someone, so he was flirting with people at that party. Simple as that, right?

But why was she so worried when thinking about it?

“Are you alright, Nari?” Seijin’s voice broke through her thoughts as Nari snapped out of her thoughts. Chaerin glanced over at Nari and gave her a questioning gaze.

“Ah, yeah,” she choked out, “I just got lost in thought.”

“About?” Chaerin asked in worry as Nari grew nervous. She didn't want to put anything in Chaerin’s head, but part of her knew that she should. She was not just in love with this guy, but she was about to marry him.

“Uh, well,” she really didn't want to voice it, but she found herself doing it anyway, “You should really find out when he started to fall in love with you. I just can't quit thinking about the night that he flirted with me. He lied and told me he came alone and everything.”

“W-well,” Chaerin slightly laughed, “he was looking for a wife, remember? He wouldn't have flirted with you if he realized that it was you.”

“But Chae,” Nari took a deep breath, “you still need to talk to him. If he loved you, why would he still be flirting with girls like that. What if he still is?”

“Nari,” Chaerin gave her an unimpressed look, “if he really didn't love me the way I thought, why would he have asked me to come here? Why would he have been worried sick that night that I didn't answer my phone?”

“I don't know,” Nari was regretting bringing it up, “I just want you to have a serious talk with him about when he fell in love with you. That should be something that you should know already.”

Seijin took a deep breath and stood up as she saw the door to their joint room opening. The guys were all laughing and it sounded like the night went well for them even if they had to suffer through a boring meeting.

“Nari!” Taehyung called as they walked into the room. The three girls blinked as they caught Taehyung stumbling toward the bed that the girls were sitting on.

“Tae,” Nari paused and stood up, “are you drunk?”

“No!” He answered as Jimin rolled his eyes, “I wouldn't ever drink! Ever!”

“He is,” Jungkook answered as Chaerin took a deep breath. She hated that Nari got to her head, but she did. There was no way that Jungkook wasn't being sincere…

Jungkook walked over to Chaerin as she stood up from the bed and tried to smile at him. The look in his eyes made it seem like he noticed the fake smile, but he didn't say anything about it, “Did you three have a good time?”

“Yeah,” Seijin answered before Chaerin could. She really didn't want the guys to know about their dinner. “It was fun. We went out to eat.”

“Oh nice,” Jimin commented, “Where did you eat?”

“Uh,” Seijin blinked a few times, “We just ate at Serendipity. It was good.”

Taehyung plopped on the bed as Nari sat down next to him, “the meeting was great.”

“And by great, he means boring,” Jungkook rolled his eyes, “Taehyung ended up seeing someone there that he hates so he drank a little too much when we all went to get drinks after.”

“Who did he see?” Nari looked a little worried as Taehyung leaned back to lay on the bed and narrowed his eyes at the ceiling.

“I saw my dad,” he frowned, “he was just as annoying as ever.”

Nari patted him on the head as he sighed and let a smile smile out, “Thank God he didn't ask about my personal life. He would have wanted to meet you, and I don't want you to ever meet him.”

Nari smiled softly before placing a soft kiss on his cheek, “I wouldn't mind meeting your parents.”

“Yes you would,” Jimin groaned from the guy’s room, “When I met his dad, all he did was criticise how small I am. He called me a girl.”

Jungkook laughed and wrapped his arm around Chaerin as he did so. She slightly stiffened at his action, but she tried to relax into his arms when his eyes locked onto hers.

“Are you alright?” He voiced after noticing how tense she was. She nodded quickly, in a way that seemed rushed and fake. He didn't fail to notice, but since everyone was looking at them, he didn't say anything else on it.

The night as slowly coming to an end as Taehyung passed out on Nari and Chaerin’s bed. Jungkook started to try and move him, but he was awake enough to slap Jungkook off of him every time.

“Aish,” Jungkook groaned when Taehyung struck him in the face, “we should just swap rooms.”

“Or, “Seijin smiled innocently as she looked from Jungkook to Chaerin, “the two who are about to get married could share a bed while Nari and I share a bed.”

Chaerin and Jungkook’s eyes widened. Seijin just smiled innocently at Chaerin and she nodded a few more times to get them to agree.

“A-alright,” Jungkook nodded nervously, “I'm in if you are.”

Chaerin looked at Nari with a panicked look on her face, but before Nari could even send an expression back, Seijin rushed Chaerin out into the hall.

“Chaerin, dear, don't let this doubt get into you head,” Seijin coached softly, “I know that I’ve only known you a few hours, but I've known Jungkook for years. You have nothing to worry about. If you’re still worried, you two should go out into the lobby or something and talk to each other.”

Chaerin was about to open her mouth to speak, but Seijin cut her off, “I understand why Nari would have her doubts. She’s just worried about you,and I would be, too. If I didn't know Jungkook like I do, I would be right with the two of you.”

“Seijin,” Chaerin spoke uncertainly, “I hear what you're saying, but it's hard to just forget what Nari said.”

“Don't forget what Nari said, just don't let it consume you. Have you ever read the play Othello?”

Chaerin shook her head as Seijin took a deep breath and leaned against the wall.

“Othello is about a man with insecurities being manipulated by someone into thinking his wife was cheating on him. I know Nari isn't trying to manipulate you like the villain in this story, but the instances are similar, are they not?”

Chaerin nodded slightly as she studied the carpet pattern under her feet.

“Othello was so paranoid that he saw things the way that would make her look guilty. Don't drive yourself crazy like he did.”

Chaerin let a small smile appear on her face as she looked back up at Seijin.

“Thanks, Seijin,” she glanced at the door that their friends were behind, “I should just talk with him about all of this. I don't want to drive myself crazy over this.”

“I’ll be here to help,” Seijin smiled and wrapped her arm around Chaerin’s shoulders gently, “if anything goes wrong, I'm willing to help. I know a few things about resolving big fights. Despite how loving and caring Seokjin is, I had some moments of doubt like you did.”

“You did?” Chaerin’s eyebrows raised as Seijin just laughed and nodded.

“I can tell you about those another time. We should go back inside,” Seijin pointed to the door as Chaerin glanced back at it. She knew that Jungkook would be asking her more questions, but she started to feel more prepared for them.

The two of them walked back inside, and just as Chaerin thought, Jungkook was waiting for them to walk back inside.

“Is everything alright?” He asked as Chaerin’s eyes locked on his. She sent him a light nod and a smile before she took a deep breath.

“I’m fine with sharing a bed with you, Jungkook.”

The rest of the week seemed to go by fast and nothing was going wrong the entire time. That's how Chaerin knew that something bad was going to happen.

And she was more than right.

Not only did the guys find out that the three of them had gone to dinner with Irene, but Jungkook, Taehyung, and Seokjin were not taking the news well. Seokjin was the one most upset, which caused him to plead Seijin into staying around him for the rest of the trip. Chaerin and Nari could tell that she didn't want to, especially since they had all become close friends over the past few days. They only had a day and a half left, but they were still sad that Seijin wouldn't really be around them much, anymore.

Seijin and Seokjin seemed to get into an argument over it all, which resulted in Seijin staying locked in the bathroom of Seokjin and Namjoon’s room. Seokjin didn't bother getting her to come out before he headed to the last meeting that the guys had to attend to in New York.

Taehyung and Nari even seemed to get affected by the news, especially when he told her that Irene now had her on a hit list. He was upset that Nari agreed to go dinner at all, even though she explained a million times that she wasn't going to let Seijin go alone.

Jungkook and Chaerin were the only ones who were still okay with each other, but that didn't last for very long. They had been left in the room alone right before he needed to leave for the meeting. He was checking to make sure that he had everything, but he stopped when Chaerin’s voice broke through the silence.

“Jungkook,” she took a deep breath, “when did you fall in love with me?”

Jungkook looked over at her with a questionable look before a smile broke out on his face, “what’s this all about?”

“Can you answer my question?”

She refused to look at him, to which Jungkook could feel that something was wrong.

“Chae, are you okay?” He moved over next to her, but she didn't move a muscle. Everything had seemed fine until she asked the question. They had just been joking with each other before Jimin had left the room.

“Jungkook,” she swallowed, “please.”

Jungkook grabbed her chin and moved her face to face his. She still wouldn't meet his eyes, so he opened his mouth to try and get her attention on him:

“Chae, look at me,” he cooed, but she didn't listen. A sigh escaped from his nose as he swallowed.

“I don't know exactly when I fell in love with you,” he started to answer the question that she was dead set on him answering, “but I realized that I was in love with you the day before our second double date when we were at the coffee shop. Before that, I just thought that I liked you a little.”

“How?” She asked again without looking at him. He just sighed and gave up on getting her to look at him.

“You kept me thinking positively every day about finding someone. That afternoon when you kissed me on the cheek and I kissed you on the lips… I knew that you weren't just a friend to me anymore.”

Chaerin’s eyes finally met his as the sincerity of his words hit her all at once. Tears started to form in her eyes as she took a deep breath.

“Is that why you flirted with people like Nari before?”

Jungkook blinked a few times before he gave her a confused look, “You know that I was looking for girls because I was low on time. And I wouldn't have flirted with Nari if I had known it was her.”

Those words didn't seem to comfort her at all as Jungkook started to feel a little irritated, “Nari keeps making me feel like you’re hiding something from me.”

“I'm not,” he laughed, but it was filled with disbelief more than anything, “I don't know why she would do that.”

“She thinks that you’re just using me,” Chaerin was losing confidence in what she was saying. Jungkook didn't say anything for a few seconds.

“You think I'm using you?” He sounded so hurt… Chaerin dared herself to look over at him, but she was filled with instant regret. She hated this. She hated that Nari got to her head…She should have listened to Seijin.

“I don't know,” she breathed out, “I don't… I think Nari just got to my head and I wanted you to make me feel better about this.”

“Is this going to happen all the time?” Jungkook laughed again, but it was once again humorless, “when have I ever lied to you?”

“You haven't-”

“Exactly!” He was now raising his voice.

Part of her knew that this negative wave that went through her friends was going to hit them at some point.

“I-I'm sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”

“You're right, you shouldn't have,” he snapped, “you should have already trusted me enough to not let that get to your head!”

“But you flirted with Nari!”

“Before I knew I was in love with you!”

“But you said you liked me before and just didn't realize it!”

“Exactly! So what’s the problem?!”

“You flirted with Nari when you knew you liked me!”

“But I didn't know I loved you yet!”

Chaerin took a deep breath and looked away from him. He wasn't in the wrong, and she knew it. She was the problem here…

“But you knew you liked me,” she choked out.

“Liking and loving are two totally different things. You don't marry someone because you like them.” He snapped before grabbed his coat and storming to the door, “I'm late. You should go do something because we won't be back until late.”

And with those words, he slammed the door behind him.

I should have just kept my mouth shut, her brain cried. She took a deep breath and opened google maps to see the area around her. Where would she even go?

She suddenly got an idea as she took a deep breath and started typing into the google search bar.

What is Othello?

Chaerin had been sitting in the room by herself for nearly three hours when she heard the door open and close. She figured it was Nari coming back from wherever she had ran off to. She didn’t bother looking up since she was a little upset with her friend for making her doubt Jungkook the way she did.

She spent her night reading the play that Seijin had told her about, and she found herself really enjoying it. She wasn’t a big fan of Shakespeare, but she found herself really enjoying the story. She couldn’t help but feel frustrated with Othello for being so easily manipulated, but in a way, she had been in the same boat as him.

“You’ve been reading Othello?”

Chaerin was surprised to hear Seijin’s voice ring in her ears as she looked up at the girl. She had obviously been crying and wasn’t having a good night just like Chaerin. She gave her a short nod before locking her phone and turning around in the chair was was sitting in.

“Jungkook and I got into a fight,” she explained as Seijin sat down on the edge of the bed that had been hers before Seokjin begged her to move rooms. “I’m such an idiot. I upset him just because I was feeling weird about the whole situation.”

“I’m sure he’ll be over it by tomorrow,” Seijin smiled supportively, “Plus there’s a party that we’re all supposed to attend before flying out tomorrow. Surely by then you two will be fine.”

“Well what about you and Seokjin?” Chaerin sent her a worried look. Seijin sighed and let out a sad laugh.

“I feel like things between the two of us are going to stay strained until I get out of Irene’s life.” Seijin explained as Chaerin nodded.

“You never really explained your situation,” Chaerin noted as Seijin’s eyes widened.

“Omo, you’re right,” she laughed, but this time it was a real one, “I guess you want me to explain then?”

Chaerin nodded as Seijin took a deep breath to begin explaining.

“When I got out of college, I was struggling to find a job. I finally got an interview at Irene’s company, Haneul, and they hired me on the spot. I never understood why, but they practically made me Irene’s slave. I was supposed to do everything for her and never complain.”

“Eventually I got promoted to a better job where I still worked for her, but I wasn’t her servant any longer. I was supposed to sign a 4 year contract for the position, so I did. It had really good pay and I was desperate to be promoted. However, I ended up slowly becoming a slave once again, to not only Irene, but the men under her. Jongin is one of those people. Almost all of them are like him,” he nose scrunched up, “All except for one.”

Chaerin nodded to indicate that she was still listening as Irene continued explaining.

“He actually helped me meet Seokjin,” Seijin smiled as she reminisced in meeting Seokjin, “We were at a dinner party and I was supposed to escort him. He started making friends with Seokjin, to which I was introduced to him. I could tell that Seokjin was into me after we talked for a few hours into the party. He ended up asking me for my number, and the guy who I was supposed to be escorting encouraged me to give it to him. I eventually did, and that was the start of the end. Seokjin’s trying to get me a job set up under his department for when my contract expires.”

Chaerin nodded and took a deep breath to respond, “Wow. I’m sorry you’ve been tied to Irene for so long. Seokjin’s efforts must be a blessing to you.”

“More of a blessing in disguise,” Seijin laughed as she looked down at her hands, “He’s been driving me crazy. I feel like he’s treating me like I don’t know how to do anything for myself. If this month doesn’t go by quickly, I’m afraid the two of us are going to drive each other to the brink of insanity.”

Chaerin slightly frowned, “I hope you two get through this okay. Just remember that Irene would want something like that for you, and you don’t want her to get what she wants.”

“Amen to that,” Seijin smiled and looked up at Chaerin, “I’m so glad to have met you, Chaerin. It feels like it’s been so long since I’ve had a girl friend to talk to.”

“You should come hang out with me and my friends sometime,” Chaerin smiled back, “Kiseung would love to talk about weddings with you. She’s about to get married in a week or so.”

“Omo, well congratulations to her,” Seijin’s eyes lightened up, “We could all help you plan your wedding, too. From what I’ve heard, you haven’t been making very many wedding plans.”

“Well Jungkook and I have to work out this situation first,” Chaerin laughed nervously as she looked over to the bed that they had been sharing the past few nights. It felt so right for her to lay next to him while she slept…

The more she thought about how she messed things up, the more upset she felt.

“Don’t worry too much over it,” Seijin reached out and rubbed Chaerin’s arm to comfort her, “If you just talk to him about it, I’m sure everything will work itself out.”

Chaerin nodded in agreement as she glanced at the clock. The guys should be getting out of the meeting soon, but who knows when they’ll actually get back. Especially now that Jungkook is upset with her, the guys will probably stay out later than they have been.

“I should head back to Seokjin’s room,” Seijin slightly groaned, “He’s probably going to come back early, and if I’m not at least in the bathroom, he’s going to be really upset.”

Chaerin sent Seijin a sorry look as she got up and started to head to the door, “This trip is almost over. Maybe everything will be resolved by then.”

Seijin nodded and headed out of the room, leaving Chaerin in complete silence once again.

It was nearly 11 and there wasn’t a sign of Nari or any of the guys other than Seokjin. As Seijin had predicted, he came straight to the hotel after the meeting.

Chaerin ended up wandering around the hotel, looking around at all of the extra stuff that they had to do. Most of the places were closing down since it was getting late, but the tables near the cafe that closed hours ago were still accessible.

Chaerin had made herself at home at one of the tables with a book that she went out and bought. She almost didn’t go out when she did, but Seijin offered to facetime with her to aid in reading english signs for her.

Once she opened the book, she heard the sound of footsteps behind her. Part of her hoped that it was Jungkook coming to talk to her about what had happened, but of course, it was just a stranger walking by.

She sat in silence for another ten minutes when she heard another set of footsteps. Her heart started hoping the same thing as the first time, but was sorely disappointed to find out who it actually was.

“Oh look,” Jongin’s voice dripped with amusement, “The meeting has been out for nearly two hours and you’re not with your beloved fiance?”

“Please go away,” Chaerin sighed as Jongin pulled a chair out so that he could sit in it.

“I thought you might want some company,” his voice dripped with evil intentions as a shiver ran down her spine. She continued to ignore him by staring at her book. “After all, someone this beautiful shouldn’t sit alone. She might get snatched up in a big city like this.”

Chaerin gasped as Jongin grabbed her wrist and pulled her in his direction, “What the h*** are you-”

“You know, Jeon is out drinking right now,” Jongin’s smile was disgustingly devious as Chaerin looked away from him, her eyes still wide. She tried to move away from him, but he grabbed her other wrist and practically pulled her on top of him. The only thing separating them was the armrests of the chairs that they were sitting in. “I even saw him flirt with a few American girls. His accent seemed to turn them on a lot.”

“Stop,” Chaerin shook her head, “You’re lying. Jungkook is not out doing those things-”

“You can deny it all you want,” Jongin’s eyebrows raised, “Or you could get back at him by kissing me. He deserves it after what he’s doing to you right now. I bet you he’s taking one of them into a back room as we speak.”

“Stop,” her voice was weak as thoughts of Jungkook’s hand on another girl flooded her mind.

“I bet you he’s really frustrated. You two finally having a fight means that he has a reason to have sex with someone who will actually have him.”

“Stop,” Chaerin’s eyes began watering as she started resisting Jongin’s hold again, “Stop it, he’s not doing any of that!”

“I bet he’s letting her tell him what to do,” Jongin leaned closer, “And he’s complying with her wishes. After all, he is drunk. Anything could happen.”

“Stop it!” Chaerin screamed as she started trying to wiggle out of his hold. He was just a little too strong for her, so her struggling was in vain.

“Face it. You don’t have anyone to help you right now,” Jongin let out a small laugh, “your story with Jungkook was just too good to be true.”

Chaerin’s eyes refused to stop producing tears as she sniffed and moved her head to completely face her lap. She knew she shouldn’t listen to Jongin. Once again, someone was trying to get her to see something that wasn’t there…

“You could get back at Jungkook right now if you want,” Jongin moved one of his hands that was holding her to try and move her head up. He didn’t let go of her arms as he did so, so when she looked up at him, she had barely any escape, “Even if you don’t want to… I might just make the decision for you.”

Chaerin let out a sob as she struggled once more in his hold. Why was this guy out to ruin her like he was? She hadn’t ever done anything to him…

“Come on sweetheart, I don’t have all day,” Jongin was growing impatient s his grip on Chaerin tightened. She let out a little wince and her eyes closed tightly to show that she was in pain. “If you wait too long, Jungkook will see.”

“Jongin, what are you doing to her?”

Chaerin’s eyes widened and her throat let out a little gasp at the sound of a voice saving her day.

...An oddly familiar voice.

Jongin cursed under his breath as he let go of Chaerin and stood up immediately. Chaerin fell back in her seat once she was free and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

“It’s none of your business, Jaemin.”

Jaemin…

Jaemin?!

Chaerin’s eyes widened as she whipped her body around to see who it was that had just saved her from Jongin. The tears that were already falling began to multiply as she opened her mouth and said in a small voice.

“O-Oppa… is that you?”

SORRY FOR THE CLIFFHANGER! Also, disclaimer: I actually hate Othello, but I’m going over it in my college class right now xD

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