#sugatsby

Another day, another meeting. And the recent ones went really well.  

Hoseok apologised for his attitude towards you and even agreed with your idea. You still had to fight for some of your other suggestions – because old habits seem to die hard – but the foundation of a better collaboration between the two of you had started to materialise.  

The last two weeks were chaotic. After making some decisions, the project got on a roll. There were lots of different things to organise. One of your tasks was to find someone that fit the image of both GD Fashion and its new clothing line, which proved to be quite difficult. After some discussion with Hoseok – which was inevitable, of course – you had contacted a famous influencer. She was a fashion blogger with quite the following online. When you showed him that she embodied GD Fashion’s sense of style, even Hoseok was convinced this campaign might just be successful.  

After today’s meeting you were set for the studio, preparing both the video and photo shoot for some of the campaign’s content. After your little outburst Hoseok had apologised and was significantly more lenient with your ideas. It seemed like he had listened and had tried to trust you with a lot of the campaign’s design. This made it a lot easier for the both of you, and caused the campaign’s preparations to progress.  

Your exchanges with Yoongi were of the bare minimum. You felt kind of awkward, but your determination to let him stew for a little bit overpowered that feeling. You had Yoongi’s question go unanswered that day, as well as requested some time to think it over. But you had seen that little spark of uncertainty in his eyes whenever your eyes locked, even though he tried so hard to hide it. It was as if he showed more of his vulnerability, or you just got a little better at seeing through the mask he so often used to hide whatever thoughts went through his mind. Did he really grow softer? Or was it just your capabilities of seeing right through him that caused you to feel sympathetic?

During today’s meeting he had acted professionally, but his very subtle fidgeting was uncharacteristic to the CEO you had come to know. You couldn’t help but wonder if you were the only one who noticed that change, or even whether it was because of you. But you had quickly tried to shake those thoughts off.  

As the meeting of updates ends and small pleasantries are exchanged, you say goodbye to Taehyung and Hoseok before going on your own merry way. You’re not surprised, however, when you feel a hand wrap itself around your lower arm when you walk towards the elevators.  

“___, do you have a moment?”

His voice wavers a little at your name. You doubt anyone else was able to catch it if they listened in, but it was there.  

You turn around to face him, a hopeful gaze meeting yours. “Yeah, sure,” you nod.  

His eyes scan around the perimeter, making sure that no one’s close enough to make out what he’s about to say. “Well, about last time. I promised you I would give you some time to think it over-”

“But you want an answer now,” you interrupt, confirming his worries.  

“Well, yeah,” he says.  

You had, of course, thought about his question a lot. Between work and your struggles with Hoseok, it was all you could think about. It was kind of complicated to be honest. It had all started with your one-in-a-million encounter at that bar that night. There was clearly a spark. And although it had been a shock to find out that it was the new boss you hooked up with and you definitely knew it was a mistake to continue your set of encounters, it somehow couldn’t be helped. There was clearly something there. You both felt it. Also, things were already messy as it is. Most of the damage was already done, right?

At the thoughtful look in your eyes, Yoongi seems to be losing a little of his patience. He’s squirming again. “Just dinner,” he adds. “Nothing more, nothing less.”

You let out a big breath. “Okay, I think I can handle that. I just hope you think you can too.”  

A relieved smile appears on his face and he chuckles. “I guess we’ll see.”

Yoongi decided to invite you over for dinner at his place straight after work. Normally you would make a bit of an effort in dressing up for a date, but you were taking it slow and you weren’t about to make a big deal out of it. Slow was good. Both for your protection, but also for Yoongi’s first steps into the dating life. 

Yoongi lived in the better part of town, high-rise apartment buildings towering above the rest of the city. And of course, the man lived on the highest floor. You had nudged his shoulder when you arrived at the building, mumbling an ‘I knew it’ under your breath. A shy smile made its way to his face when you were looking up at the building in amusement. The next discovery also didn’t really surprise you. His apartment gave off the same vibe as his office: modern and minimalistic. With most of his time spend running a multi-million company, he explained as you looked around the sleek and empty space, he didn’t feel the need to decorate it. Just the bare necessities, he called it.  

The third revelation, however, did surprise you. After throwing your coats on one of the leather chairs in the living area, he immediately moved to the kitchen and swung open the fridge, announcing he’d be making risotto for dinner.  

“I didn’t know you cooked,” you had teased him.  

“Only when I have time,” he’d replied. “I guess I still have some surprises left in me.”

You took a seat at the bar in the kitchen as Yoongi served some wine and started on the meal. Conversation had flown as heavily and smoothly as his expensive merlot. You talked about work, family and friends, and awkward childhood stories. It felt like you were talking with that guy you met at the bar again. You two just clicked and without all of the ambiguity of what you were, walls slowly started to come down. And also, just like that night, alcohol in your systems, the evening ended much the same way too.  

Another week went by quickly. You were on a roll with the project and both your collaboration with Yoongi, Hoseok and Taehyung went smoother than it had ever gone. Everyone turned out to work together surprisingly well when you didn’t feel the urge to scratch each other’s eyes out.  

However, the next obstacle was about to make itself known.  

The morning started off like any other quiet morning, but when you step into the office, the peaceful and hushed atmosphere you’re used to is nowhere to be found. People seem stressed, phones are ringing everywhere. A little more confusing than the usual office chaos. You don’t think much of it at first; it was a little off but some days were bound to be a little busier, you figure. It’s only when you see Namjoon’s face when you walk into your own office that you really suspect something is wrong.  

“Nams, what’s going on? Did something happen?” you say.  

Namjoon looks at you as if it’s obvious. “You haven’t seen the news?”

“What? Why?”

“Look for yourself,” your assistant says while handing you his phone.  

It shows a news site with an article about Bangtan Inc. You scroll through the article, your mouth in a silent gasp. ‘Lawsuit Against Copycat Bangtan Inc. Stocks Plummet.’

The article mentions an advertisement for a brand that the company created a while ago. The article claims Bangtan Inc had copied this ad directly from an ad that its competitor had created prior. JMarketing now threatens with a lawsuit causing the faith of Bangtan’s shareholders to decrease, and stock prices falling because of it.  

You sit back, speechless. You can’t believe it. You’d worked closely with the team that was responsible for that campaign. They worked their asses off for it. There was no way these people would have copied the other’s ads. It was an original idea. You are absolutely certain that there’s no way the idea could have been stolen. How could this have happened? This is a disaster!  

You gasp. Yoongi.

After Namjoon leaves, you scramble for your phone. Yoongi had to have known about this since this morning. He was probably swamped in phone calls, emails and having to take the brunt of his shareholders’ fury. And as you hear the dial tone continue on the other end, your assumptions are met. The line is occupied. 

Just when you slam the receiver back, your phone rings. Jung Hoseok is calling... Great.  

You take a deep breath, but you know you’ll never be prepared for what that man has to say. You pick up with a ‘good morning, Mr Jung’ in your most cheerful voice, but you know he isn’t happy to speak with you either.  

“Miss ___.” His tone is clipped. “What is the meaning of all this?”

“Are there any problems, sir?”

“Of course there’s a problem! I don’t like putting our business on the line, Miss ___. GD Fashion does not like to associate itself with scandals like this.”

You don’t know what to say to that. This thing has only barely manifested itself in your own brain, let alone that you can come up with answers for the same man who had taken his time to try and respect you as an equal.  

“I apologise, Mr Jung,” is the only thing you can come up with right now. But those words didn’t matter anymore with the words Hoseok speaks next.  

“As you can imagine, in reference to Bangtan Inc’s precarious situation, both in reputation and finances, my supervisors have advised me to terminate the contract that we have come up with during our recent cooperation.”

No. Oh no!  

“Of course, the payment for your work up until this point will stand, but we will be going to look into doing business elsewhere-”

“Mr Jung,” you interrupt. You don’t know what else to say. You’re going to lose your biggest project yet only five months into your hard-earned promotion. The company is about to go into a rough patch and your job will probably be the first one to go should that be necessary. The faces of your parents and your sister, who has yet to finish university, flash through your mind. You cannot lose this project. You cannot lose your job now.  

“Please. Don’t terminate the contract just yet. Let me talk this over with Mr Min first. I promise you won’t regret it. We’ll figure this out.”

It stays silent on the other end of the line for a few seconds. You pray your little plea has reached somewhere in his heart where he would give it some time.  

You hear a sigh. “Okay, Miss ___. You get three days. Our situation calls for an immediate withdrawal. I can’t give you any more than that.”

You let out a relieved breath. “Thank you, Mr Jung. I will get back to you on this. Thank you for having some faith in me.”

Your reply earns you a soft rumble on the other side. It may have even been a low chuckle. You shake your head. This was still Hoseok you were talking about.  

Yoongi turned out to be unavailable for the rest of the day, which killed you. This scandal had already put a lot of stress on the company as well as him as the CEO. You longed to at least speak with him, for both of your sakes, but that was going to have to wait: you were going to support him in another way. With Yoongi occupied fully, you were going to have to think of a solution for the GD Fashion account on your own. He hadn’t reached out to you, which means he trusted you. Hell, even Hoseok more or less put faith in you. Now you had to follow their example.  

Even with how bad the situation turned out to be, you decided you’d continue to project on your own and to the best of your abilities. Determined to let this project run smoothly, you had made an appointment with your task’s subject. With a fashion event taking place in the city this week, Hana had flown over and you weren’t about to let this opportunity slip through your fingers.  

With purpose in your step, you walk through the doors of the hotel you were supposed to meet. Hana had warned you about the little wiggle room she had in her schedule, but you had come prepared. Your idea would only take a couple of minutes to pitch.  

After announcing your arrival for your appointment at the hotel’s front desk, you take a seat in one of the comfortable chairs in the lobby. You sit there for a couple of minutes, shuffling through your notes, before hearing a small whistle. You look up from your papers to see a familiar figure approaching you.  

“Hey, ___. Didn’t expect to find you here,” he says, playfully.

“Jungkook.” You frown. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He shrugs. “Just here for work.” He makes his way to the seat next to you. “So,” he starts. “I was sorry to hear about all the drama going on at Bangtan.”

You push back the urge to roll your eyes and let out an amused huff. “Like you mean that.”

“I do, actually.” He leans forward, elbows dipping the fabric of his pants above his knees. “It’s not like I want to see other people fail. I’m not heartless.”  

You’re ready to let out a scoff once more, but catch yourself when movement catches your attention. A woman approaches. “Miss ___?”

You rise, ready to leave Jungkook before he is able to start moving onto more dangerous conversational territory.  

“Hey, ___,” Jungkook calls out. You turn back toward him reluctantly. “Our company is always on the lookout for talent. Especially with Bangtan’s issues... I could put in a good word for you.”

It takes a lot of effort to keep your jaw in place. You shake your head, not quite believing what you’ve just heard, before silently making your way to the lady who called your name. So, that was what he came for, you think, disappointed, but not surprised. He wanted to coax you into switching sides. Should’ve known that asshole had an alternative motive for talking to you. He reminds you of a vulture, hovering and circling, waiting for its meal to fully surrender so he can pick on the bones left behind. 

“So, Mr. Min, what do you think?” A deafening silence falls over the entire meeting room. “Mr. Min?”

Finally settled and curious as to why no one’s talking, you raise your head, your gaze moving to the familiar figure sitting at the head of the table. As soon as your eyes meet, your mouth falls open in shock. Your cheeks must have been drained from all colour fairly quickly when Seokjin asks you if you’re alright. You nod, but are unable to look anywhere else than the figure of the man across the room, who seems to be as shocked as you to see his hook-up from last night attending the same meeting as him, one word leaving his lips in a whisper.

“Fuck.”

“Mr. Min?”

The man in question finally manages to tear his gaze off of your figure. “Uh… Yes. Let’s do that,” he a stammers. “Let’s go with what you just said.”

Yoongi – or Mr. Min – is clearly still a bit out of it, but at least he’s able to form words, while you’re still staring at him, unable to even form coherent thoughts. Trying to steady your breathing, you eventually snap out of it, but for the rest of the meeting, you wouldn’t be able focus.

During the entire meeting you wished for the ground to swallow you up in a hole. You had felt everyone’s gaze on your flustered face the entire time, like every person in the room could see right through you. You might have had a weird kind of exchange going on between the two of you with your facial expressions when you sat down, but you just hoped that everyone who saw that, wouldn’t think any of it.

However, you knew for sure that there was one pair of eyes following your every move. You tried to avoid his eyes the entire time, afraid that someone else in the room might have noticed the awkwardness between you, but primarily because you were afraid of what you would see if you looked into them. Annoyance, shame, disappointment? You didn’t want to know, so you kept your head down, focussing on the doodles on the paper in front of you.

When the end of the meeting is announced, you gather your stuff as fast as you can, wanting to leave the oppressive atmosphere behind you as quickly as possible. But you aren’t able to escape the room unseen, noticing Mr. Min, who’s walking straight towards you. Just like last night, he looks impressive. With his dark blue slacks and fitted jacket of the same colour combined with a white dress shirt and navy blue tie, he looks incredibly put together, as if he didn’t get drunk in a sleazy, old bar before ending up in the bathroom stalls with you last night. Knowing you cannot keep avoiding your boss at work, you halt next your seat.

“Y/N, can we talk?” he asks when he stands right in front of you.

But you’re unable to reply as you two are interrupted by Seokjin, who has walked back to fetch you. “Y/N, are you okay? I looked for you everywhere last n- Oh, sorry, sir.”

“My office. In ten minutes,” Yoongi orders when your gaze falls on him again, before moving towards the door, leaving you to nervously stare at his back as he walks out.

“Wow, I didn’t expect him to be that harsh,” Seokjin chuckles next to you. You look at him confused. “I mean you were barely five minutes late and he’s already summoning you to his office? You okay?”

You show him a slight nod, your gaze moving back to the doorway Mr. Min just disappeared through. “Where did you go last night, by the way? I looked around for you, but I couldn’t find you.”

“I… uh, I wasn’t feeling very good, so I went home pretty early on,” you lie.

Jin shrugs. “That’s too bad. You missed Min’s speech. It was pretty impressive.”

You look up at him, while walking out of the conference room together. “Oh, yeah?” you ask, still a bit distracted by the figure of authority that just left the room a minute ago.

“Yeah, I think you would have liked it. And maybe..” Seokjin continues, a smile on his face. “If you would have met him yesterday, you might have started on better terms today,” Seokjin laughs.

You chuckle nervously at the irony. “Yeah, that might have helped…”

Under the guise of getting reprimanded for being too late this morning, you make your way to CEO Min’s office on the top floor. You’re biting your nails, a habit that only resurfaces in nerve-racking situations. How could you be so stupid? Why, of all times, when you decided to let yourself go a bit, why would you pick last night to do so?

When the elevator signals your arrival on the top floor, you reluctantly make your way out of the little metal box and, with slow steps, walk to the door at the end of the hallway. You read the small sign next to the door, hoping that this is all some weird dream. But when you see it reads ‘CEO Min Yoongi’ you know this is your reality. You close your eyes and let out a deep sigh before straightening yourself up and running a shaky hand through your hair. Knocking on the door, you wait with baited breath.

“Come in,” a deep voice sounds from the other side of the door.

You walk inside, carefully closing the wooden door behind you. When you turn around your eyes meet the eyes of the same guy that caught your eye last night. He looks so different behind his ebony desk. Almost unapproachable.

Closing the door behind you, you look around. His office screams class, put-togetherness, like one would imagine of the office of a CEO of a multimillion dollar company. The room is about the same size as your entire apartment. Only this room doesn’t exude anything of the cosiness of your living room. It is mostly empty, only his desk, two leather seats, and a large bookcase occupying the space, all of it drawing your attention to the person sitting behind the desk.

Yoongi’s eyes move up from his laptop screen and meet yours. You walk forward, straightening out the folds in your pencil skirt and take a seat across from him in one of the two black leather seats.

“Eh, so…” you start, avoiding his penetrating gaze by looking at everything and anything in the office that isn’t him.

You hear him let out a sigh. “Look, Y/N…” he starts. “Let’s just forget anything happened last night. I think that’s going to be the best solution here.”

You nod, carefully meeting his eyes. You know it’s for the best, but you can’t help but feel a little disappointed. You felt like he was somehow different, that you connected with him. For him, last night was probably just one of many and you’ll just have to be fine with that, like you intended to be from the very beginning. “Sure,” you agree. “I mean, we’re both adults. We can be professional about this.”

“Absolutely,” Yoongi confirms with a nod, visibly relieved by your answer.

“So… Am I going to have to call you Mr Min now?” you ask after a couple of seconds of silence, a smile tugging around the corners of your lips at the irony of the situation.

Yoongi looks down, a crease appearing between his perfectly sculpted eyebrows, before moving his gaze up to you again. “I didn’t really think about that, but I guess so. At least with other people around.” The look in his eyes seems determined.  

“I see,” you reply, looking down at your hands fidgeting in your lap. You still can’t help but feel a little awkward about the situation. This is a first for you after all, having to go back to calling someone ‘sir’ after being more than on a first-name basis the night before. You look back up, finding Yoongi’s gaze on your face. It seems he’s lost in thought. “So, is there anything else you’d like to speak to me about, sir? Or can I get back to work?”

He nods, a slight smile appearing on his face. “Sure, Miss…”

“Y/L/N,” you turn back to him as you make your way out of his office.

“Well then. Have a nice day, Miss Y/L/N,” he smiles before you give him a nod as to return his goodbye and close the door behind you.

When you’re outside of Min Yoongi’s office you let out a deep sigh. You can do this, you think to yourself. You are able to be a mature adult about this, Y/N. You keep repeating this like a mantra, hoping it’ll help convince yourself on your way back to your own office.

And you were able to be a mature adult about the situation. The last couple of days you were able to get on with your job without any awkward situations or weird moments, most of them prevented from happening simply because he wasn’t your direct supervisor. And you were thankful for that. You weren’t particularly in the right mindset to run into him again after your awkward encounter in the meeting room last week.

Last week ended and you were able to get your mind off of the strange coincidence during your well-deserved weekend off. You took some time to catch up on your favourite shows, got some chores done and spend the rest of the weekend recharging on your comfortable sofa with your friends Ben and Jerry. On Monday, you feel a little better about the situation. If you could get through the first couple of days, you could get through this week as well.

When you arrive at work, Namjoon is the first one to greet you. “Good morning, Y/N!” your assistant beams at you.

“Good morning, Joon! Everything okay?” you ask him, when you notice him shifting his weight from one foot onto the other when standing in the doorway of your office.

“Er… Y-yes! It’s just, there was someone looking for you,” he replies, stammering a little.

Your friend’s nervous behaviour makes you curious. Knowing Namjoon for as long as you worked at this company, you find that this twitching doesn’t suit him. At least, not around you anymore. You had met him on the day you arrived at the company, fresh from university. He had been stammering and stuttering all throughout your first conversations. Until he had gotten used to you and you had gotten used him. And after a while, you even became good friends, unexpectedly bonding over your love for 90’s hip hop. He was actually very clumsy but, for some weird reason, he always had his things in order at work. His shy and fidgety personality only came back once in a while: when he got nervous.

“Who?” You answer, curious.

“H-he said to meet him in his office as soon as you got here,” Namjoon blurts out, avoiding your question.

“Who?” you insist, a crease appearing between your eyebrows.

“CEO Min,” he answers. At your assistant’s words your heart rate increases. Just when you thought you would be able to avoid him forever. You let out an exasperated sigh, causing Namjoon to speak up. “What? Did the team do something wrong? Is that why he wants to have a word with you? He didn’t seem that serious…”

“What?” you look up, surprised. “He came here?”

“Yeah, I thought that was quite surprising as well, to be honest.”

“Well,” you start, collecting some of your things. “I guess I’ll only find out if I go and talk to him.”

You leave your office with a nod, your phone, a pen and notepad in hand, and for the second time in two weeks, you make your way to Min Yoongi’s office.

When you arrive at his office, you knock twice and open the door as you hear a voice calling you in. You poke your head around the corner. Just like the last time you saw him, he’s sitting behind his desk, eyes on the paperwork in front of him.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” you call out to him, still standing in the doorway, holding onto the door handle to keep yourself grounded.

Yoongi’s head moves up, his eyes moving over your figure. “Ah, yes. Come in, please.”

You do as he says, making sure to close the door behind you. The male puts down his pen and grabs another file as you sit down in front of him, crossing your legs and placing your hands in your lap. “I wanted to speak with you about a new client,” Yoongi starts, peaking your curiosity. “We’ve been approached to design a marketing campaign for GD Fashion.”

You nod, knowing of the company in question. GD Fashion was just one of those companies that left an amazing imprint on the fashion industry. You remember seeing their ads on TV or billboards. Flashy and colourful, but sophisticated and fashionable. The people that were working on their ad campaigns before were great at their jobs, even you noticed that. “That’s an amazing opportunity, sir.”

“Exactly,” Yoongi agrees. “And that’s why I will be supervising and collaborating on this project personally.”

You nod, perfectly understanding that this is a great chance for Bangtan Inc. to work with a big commercial enterprise. “But what did you need to see me for?”

“Well… I want your team to work on this project.”

Your eyes widen at his statement, surprised that the CEO himself is asking you to do a job that might have a better chance of succeeding performed by some of your more experienced co-workers.

“That does mean, however, that we will be working together closely.” The blonde male looks at you intently, causing your pulse to accelerate. “I just wanted to make sure you think you can handle that.”

“O-of course. Yes,” you blurt out, without giving it a second thought.

Yoongi sends a slight smile at your confidence. “Good,” he nods, his smirk disappearing as quickly as it came. “Two of the client’s representatives will be here tomorrow afternoon to talk about their initial thoughts. I want you to prepare some things beforehand,” he explains, handing you the file. “Everything’s in there. Do you have any questions so far?”

“Not at this moment, sir,” you say, still finding it somewhat awkward to speak to him as your boss.

“Great,” Yoongi ends the conversation, an encouraging smile tugging around his lips. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.” You can only nod in silence before making your way out of his office, holding the file to your chest as a way of keeping your hands occupied.

Back in your own office, you let out a sigh before slamming the file down onto your desk and letting yourself fall back onto your chair, still a little flustered from the news you’ve just received. Working for this client is a big deal. You should be elated to be called in for this job, but something about it doesn’t sit right with you. Why did he give you this job in the first place? Did he really see something in you? Or was there something else going through his mind when he chose you?

At that last thought, shivers run along your spine. And the feeling doesn’t get much better when you think about what you agreed to in the first place. Working with Min Yoongi. Running your fingers through your hair, you cannot refrain from wondering if this was the right thing to do.

The next day was nerve-racking. You were actually really nervous for the meeting that took place that day. The day before, you had spent all day brainstorming with Namjoon and Jimin, one of the employees on your team, about what the advertising campaign of GD Fashion’s new clothing line should look like. You thought you ended up with some pretty good suggestions to throw onto the table during your first meeting with the client. But, boy… were you proven wrong.

The meeting hadn’t even properly started yet, and you already felt judging stares from one of the men called Jung Hoseok roam over your figure. You felt aware of every gesture, every move you made. You didn’t know what his problem was. Were you not what he was expecting? Maybe he wasn’t expecting dealing with someone so young. Maybe he wasn’t used to dealing with a woman in this position. All possible scenarios crossed your mind. You even wondered, for a second, if he knew about your fling with the fair-haired man sitting next to you, but even you knew that would be too far-fetched.

The dark-haired male did not come alone, however. He brought one of his co-workers with him, an enthusiastic male named Kim Taehyung. His hair was a shade lighter than Hoseok’s, just like his aura. He came across a lot friendlier than the former. The way his boxy smile reached his eyes couldn’t stop you from returning the favour. Only one disdainful look from Mr Jung had the power of erasing that expression of your face.

The meeting had gone from bad to worse when Mr Jung started bashing all of your suggestions, telling you it didn’t fit their image of their company or their new product. Mr Kim, or Taehyung, had tried to salvage the situation by mentioning some good things about your ideas, but even his little ways of complimenting you couldn’t compete with the negative remarks that came out of Hoseok’s heart-shaped mouth.

To make matters worse, you noticed that, the longer the meeting progressed, you didn’t receive any back-up from your boss. Yoongi sat next to you, tight-lipped for most of the meeting and only saying a couple of reassuring words to his guests when your ideas weren’t good enough. You understood that fully backing you up might have been able to cause the client to walk away from the boardroom for good, and you were thankful to him for that, but if he had only put a little bit more faith in your capabilities, it wouldn’t have hurt anyone.

Besides from feeling bad about him not fully trusting you, you still felt a little weird around him, you weren’t going to deny that. Whenever his gaze fell on you, you felt scrutinised. It didn’t feel the same as when Hoseok looked at you, however. Where his gazes could be described as negative, Yoongi’s looks were just full-on awkward. The atmosphere in the room grew denser the longer you were in there, it was suffocating you. And you were sure you weren’t the only one who felt it, feeling Yoongi growing more and more restless the longer the meeting went on. You know Taehyung had felt it too, when he started wrapping up the conversation. When Yoongi agreed, you didn’t know how fast you had to get out of there, finding comfort within the walls of your own office as quickly as possible.

That disastrous meeting happened two days ago, and you were already chewing on your fingernails for the second one that was scheduled for today. The last two days you had been working your butt off trying to think of other ideas that might appease the client while juggling your other tasks. You had tried to meet up with Yoongi earlier today, to see what he thought of your suggestions before being thrown into the lion’s den later. But he ended up being too busy to see you, his daily schedule packed, according to his secretary.

You had been frustrated ever since your collaboration with this client began, feeling like you were the only one making an effort, Yoongi either being distant or too busy, only for some self-entitled asshole to knock your suggestions down again immediately. Walking up to the board room with your feet heavy and your notebook full of new ideas, you can only guess what today’s meeting will bring.

“Are you sure you don’t want to take this into consideration?”

Your question obviously doesn’t evoke a positive reaction out of Mr Jung, looking at the way his forehead starts to display some slight creases. “No. I don’t think it fits with the image GD Fashion wants to portray. It’s too youthful.”

You nod in understanding, but on the inside, you’re feeling helpless. Again, Jung Hoseok makes your life harder than it already was. That’s all you hear from him: No. By now you’ve already gone through all of your suggestions and the meeting’s still not going anywhere. You’re this close to giving up and handing over the job to Seokjin, who’s surely better at negotiating these kinds of things than you are, but when you think about how much you need this opportunity to work out for you, you shake your head and endure it, convincing yourself you’ll come up with better ideas for the marketing campaign for the next meeting.

“Why don’t we quit for today and resume this meeting next week,” Taehyung suggests, an assuring smile on his face.

“Sure. Why not,” Hoseok replies curtly. “Let’s see if we can make some progress then.”

With a polite smile and nod of your head you agree, shaking the clients’ hands to say goodbye. When the two men have left, leaving you alone with Yoongi, you feel his eyes on you. You turn towards him, awaiting his reaction.

“Why?” he asks, a thoughtful frown above his eyebrows. He seems awfully calm, which you don’t know if you should be glad about or not.

You look at him, confused. “Why what?”

“Why didn’t you stand up for yourself?” Yoongi takes a step closer, his gaze becoming more intense. “Some of those ideas were good, but you still let him stomp all over them.”

You shrug. “I don’t know… He’s still a client. I can’t just be rude to him, now can I?”

“I didn’t say you should be rude. I’m just saying that you should be more confident about your ideas and not let that guy walk all over you.” He raises his voice a little, seeming frustrated about your response.

Something in the belittling way he speaks to you, starts to rile you up. Is he really blaming you for this? Suggesting you’d change? Who the hell does he think he is?! First, he puts you, an inexperienced employee, on the biggest project of the year, left you on your own this whole time, letting some jerk throw his remarks at you, and now, he starts blaming the lack of progress on you?

You clench your fists, turning your knuckles white. All of the frustration that you had been carrying the last couple of weeks comes flowing out. Jerky Jungkook, your parent’s finances, Yoongi, Hoseok’s haughty remarks. All of it.

“Are you serious?!” Your boss seems surprised by your reaction, his eyebrows creating creases on his forehead. “You’re telling me that this is my fault?!”

“No. No,” Yoongi interjects, a frown on his face after having recovered from your sudden outburst. “I’m just saying that you’re not confident enough in your own ideas. I mean, where’s that woman I met at the bar that night? Where did that spark go?”

Your eyes widen at his comment. That night at the bar? What does that have to do with anything? “That woman was drunk, okay. In reality I’m not like that!”

“She has to be in there somewhere. How can you sell your ideas when you’re not one hundred percent behind them yourself?” He shoots back, insisting.

It seems like, after that one night, he thinks he knows you, but you cannot find the strength to contradict him on that. You decide to try to silence him by pointing out his own shortcomings – as any mature adult would.

You walk up to him, closing the gap between you. “Well, maybe, if someone wasn’t too busy, letting me figure this all out for myself and gave me so as much as a pointer, I would be more confident about the ideas I’m presenting!”

You’re absolutely furious now. How dare he expect so much from you when he doesn’t even know you!

Yoongi opens his mouth to respond to your remark, but quickly decides against it when he realises what you’re aiming at. You are right, in some ways. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to be the bigger person and admit it. He’s as stubborn as you are – even though both of you wouldn’t admit resembling each other in some way or another. So, he snaps at you once again.

“But maybe if you were confident enough in the first place, you wouldn’t need my stamp of approval on everything you do! I need you to be sure of yourself, to take control!”

You clench your fists at his response, your heart is racing, and there’s fire in your eyes. Why doesn’t he just admit his negligence in working with you instead of blaming it all on you?!

Taking up the challenge, you take a step towards him as well, closing the gap between you even more. The proximity takes you back to that night at the bar, a delicious feeling taking over your body when his scent overwhelms you once again. But you quickly snap out of it, forcing yourself to focus on the matter at hand.

“You want me to take control?” Your voice is merely a whisper, lacking the fire you intended to spit out to him, the closeness taking the upper hand when you stare into his beautiful dark brown eyes.

At this moment you’re not sure if you’re talking about the project anymore, his scent invading you as his penetrating eyes no longer portray anger, but rather something else. Your body is burning up underneath his fiery gaze and you’re sure he notices what he’s instigating, a knowing look in his eyes giving that away.

You open your mouth to say something, to somehow rile him up even more, but you can’t, his lips preventing you from doing so by being crashed against yours. His hand caresses the side of your neck, slowly running his fingers through your hair. You cannot help your eyes fluttering closed at the pleasant sensation in contrast to the way his lips move against yours with a certain hunger. Giving in to him you wrap your arms around his neck, encouraging him to continue. And he does, his tongue running along your bottom lip, demanding entrance, which you’re willing to give him.

You feel his hands move towards your waist and before you realise, you are lifted off of your feet, causing you to let out a surprised groan into his mouth. You feel Yoongi smile into the kiss as he moves you towards the boardroom table. Once your behind meets the wooden surface and he moves closer, your legs around his hips, you cave in, melting against him as he whispers in your ear.

The bass of the music is felt all throughout your body, but you don’t care. You keep moving your body to the beat however you see fit. You let the music take over, waving your hips from one side to the other whilst your eyes are closed. When you open them up again, your sweaty reflection is staring back at you from the mirror-covered wall in front of you. Your hair is a mess, your face is red from exertion, but you don’t even notice all that, too focused on the way the music makes you feel, expressing it with your body movements.

Dancing has been your life ever since you can remember, taking ballet classes when you were a mere toddler to taking jazz and breakdance classes throughout middle and high school. You never saw it as something which you could dedicate your life to. You always saw it as a hobby, a past time activity, afraid that turning it into a job would take the fun out of it. Also, it’s not as if you were good enough to be a professional dancer, you just enjoyed finding out new ways to move your body to the music.

When the song ends, you are brought out of your concentration. Letting out a sigh, you walk over to the back of the studio where you put down your stuff earlier this evening. Taking a sip of your blue water bottle, you walk over to the sound system. You scroll through your favourite dance playlist on your phone attached to the system with a cable, trying to decide which song to dance to next.

After catching your breath, you press play on one of your favourite songs before putting aside your water. It’s a song with an R&B vibe, which you absolutely love, being able to get lost in the percussion and melodies completely. You walk towards the middle of the room, getting ready to clear your head once again.

The beat is thumping, causing a smile to appear on your face. You’re thankful of the advantages your workplace offers. You’d never used a sound system quite like this before you came to work here. Well, work… It technically wasn’t a real job. It was more of an internship or traineeship to prepare you for a real job. You had never expected to end up working at the finance department of one of Korea’s biggest entertainment companies though. But you weren’t complaining, it was the opportunity of a life time. And that’s exactly why you didn’t want to get caught using one of the dance practice studios without permission.

You’ve been sneaking into one of the empty dance studios for about two weeks now. It proved to be quite easy, a lot of them being vacant late at night, or sometimes in the early mornings. But you weren’t going to risk getting caught, your job being on the line. That’s why you always made sure that at least the adjoining studio rooms were vacant as well.

Like many of the other nights you sneaked back into the building, there was no one to be seen in the entire hallway of this floor. But little did you know that you weren’t going to be alone for long.

A few minutes away, Jaebum had been growing restless. He didn’t know what was wrong, all he knew was that he had a schedule with the rest of the guys early in the morning and that he had to fall asleep soon, if he wanted to get some sleep. But he just couldn’t relax, too many thoughts going through his head. He needed to get out of the dorms to do something else, to clear his mind. So logically, he grabbed his bag, told the guys he’d be back later and was on his way to one of his favourite practice rooms in the company building to blow off some steam.

But his plan turns out harder to be able put into practice when he arrives at the JYP Entertainment building and he hears music coming from ‘his’ room. He rushes to the door, curious to see who just had to have a late night practice session in the space he considered to be GOT7’s practice room. Glancing through the small window in the door, he freezes, his hand resting on the door handle.

That’s when he sees you, your back towards him, still in the middle of your dance routine. Something about the way you move, lights a spark inside of him. You’re so entranced that when he’s able to steal a glance of your face through the mirror he cannot help but smile. Your dancing is infectious. The passion you show when dancing reminds him of why he started all of this, his bad mood disappearing into thin air.

He cannot take his eyes off of you, so he decides to just keep staring at you for a couple more minutes. You’re moving so gracefully, your moves are controlled, and just when he expects you to keep going at the same pace, you mix it up by throwing in some quick footwork. All of it makes him wonder why he hasn’t noticed you before. To think of it, your face doesn’t seem familiar at all. He wasn’t aware of JYP hiring any new trainees lately…

You’re almost at the end of your dance routine when you get pulled out of your concentration by the hairs in your neck standing up. The feeling catches you off guard, but right when you start thinking about why you’re feeling like being watched, you take a step to your left, but your lower leg doesn’t cooperate with where your foot was supposed to be and you almost twist your ankle. Knowing you have week ankles, you let yourself fall, not wanting to risk tearing any ligaments in your ankle, like when you injured it a couple of years back. You crash against the floor a little more harshly than expected, pain reverberating through your right hip. But your pain is soon forgotten when you’re pulled from your thoughts by a male voice.

“Oh my god! Are you okay?”

You flick your head up, your gaze meeting two concerned eyes staring back at you. The male bending over your figure is obviously as shocked as you are about his sudden interruption as he hesitatingly straightens back up. “Sorry, I was just…” he says while pointing back to the door he just came through. His gaze moves from the door back to you. “I… Are you okay?”

You let your eyes go over the man in front of you. His dark brown hair is hidden behind a snapback, leaving you with a clear view of his beautiful dark brown orbs. He nervously rubs the back of his neck. Everything about him seems a little awkward, but he still manages to let the corners of his mouth curl up in a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” you nod slightly, when he offers you his hand. You grab it, getting up from the floor with some difficulty with the throbbing pain in your hip. “Thanks.”

You’re hesitant to say anything else, afraid of getting scolded by the man you recognise as one of the idols working at JYPE. Not wanting to get into any more trouble, you limp over to the back of the room to grab your stuff in order to leave the room as quickly as possible.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

You turn back to him slightly. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I just fell, nothing serious,” you ensure him.

“I know, I saw…” he blurts out, making you cock up an eyebrow, curious as to how long he had been standing behind that door. “You’re a really good dancer,” he continues when he notices the knowing look you’re giving him.

You smile at the floor, unable to hide your joy as one of the better dancers of JYPE compliments your skills. “Thanks.” You move your gaze upwards. “What are you doing here anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be at the dorms?”

Jaebum cocks his head, looking confused. So, you knew who he was?

“What?” you ask when he doesn’t answer.

“Nothing.” He shakes his head, before moving closer. “I couldn’t sleep, so I came here to clear my head.”

“I guess I’ll get out of your way then,” you say before continuing to collect your things, but Jaebum stops you. “Wait.” You turn around once again, facing him. Jaebum’s curiosity gets the better of him. “Who are you? I’ve never seen you here before.”

You lower your gaze, contemplating whether or not to tell him about your nightly escapades to these practice rooms. “That’s because,” you sigh, your gaze moving upwards again, meeting his. “I’m not supposed to be here.”

Jaebum looks at you confused. “What do you mean? Did you sneak in here?”

You forcefully shake your head, not wanting him to get the wrong impression. It’s not like you’re an obsessed fan, sneaking into the buildings of random entertainment companies. “No, no, I work here!” You wave your hands in front of your face. “I’m just not supposed to be here.” You point at the floor. You continue, Jaebum’s face still showing signs of bewilderment.

“I work at the finance department,” you confess, squeezing your eyes shut, suddenly embarrassed by your day job, which you find, upon revealing, will always burst the bubble of anything that people could find remotely interesting about you.

When you open your eyes again, Jaebum looks at you, bewildered, the smile tugging around his lips hinting at his amusement. “JYP’s finance department?”

You nod. “But please don’t tell anyone I was here,” you beg, a pleading look in your eyes. “Please, I can’t lose my job.” You bend down, your gaze moving to your shoes. But before you can say anything else, you’re interrupted by a genuine laugh.

When you look up, you find Jaebum beaming at you. “It’s fine,” he chuckles. “Who am I to tell on you. I don’t mind you being here if you’re not bothering anyone.”

At those words, you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Your frown makes way for a hesitant smile. “Thank you! Thank you so much.”

Jaebum walks past you and sits down on the black leather couch. You follow his movements with your eyes, unable to tear them away from his lean, white t-shirt-clad figure, the veins on his arms prominent when he pulls his lower leg towards him, placing it down on his other knee. You’re pulled out of your reveries when he calls out once again.

“So… How long have you been dancing?”

You swallow the lump that’s developed in your throat as you bring yourself to walk over and sit down next to him. “Since I was about five years old,” you smirk, reminiscing the times when your mom walked you to your ballet classes every single week.

Jaebum looks a little shocked. “Five? Really?”

“What?” you interject. “Did it look like I have less experience than that?” you ask him jokingly.

“No, no! It does!” he exclaims, laughing. “I was just surprised! I mean, when someone has been dancing for that long, you wouldn’t necessarily find them working at the finance department.”

You look at him, an indignant look in your eyes. “Are you really making fun of my job, pretty boy?! Let me tell you, not everyone can be an idol!”

Jaebum lets out a laugh at your fake outburst, and smiles at you before holding out his right hand. “Im Jaebum.”

“Y/N.”

You ended up talking with Jaebum for a couple of hours on end, immediately hitting it off. You talked about how you ended up at JYP, how he ended up at JYP. About music, his members and, ultimately, the reason he came to the building tonight. He told you about how the last comeback had just ended and the next one is coming up soon, and about how he struggles managing pleasing both the manager and keeping the rest of the group motivated through tiring dance and vocal practices.

“Normally I just come here to dance, to clear my head,” Jaebum says, his eyes focused on the mirror on the other end of the room.

“But?” you coax, a playful tone in your voice.

He turns his head towards you, a smile appearing on his lips. “But I guess this helps too.”

A comfortable silence appears between the two of you. “You know, I can’t remember when I had the time to talk to any of my family members in between all our schedules,” Jaebum starts. “And talking to the members isn’t always an option.”

“Sometimes you just need to do that,” you agree. “To vent about nothing. Or everything. And it doesn’t even matter to who, just as long as there’s someone listening.”

Jaebum turns his head, locking his eyes into yours, a soft smile on his face. It tells you he’s silently agreeing with you. In turn you let out a sigh running your hands over your face.

“I guess I should be going,” you announce while standing up. “I don’t have as bad as a schedule as you, but I need to work tomorrow morning too,” you joke.

“Sure,” Jaebum laughs. “Good night!” he calls out behind you when you walk towards the door, slinging your bag over your shoulder, causing you to smirk.

“Good night, Jaebum.”

You end up walking home tonight in order to clear your head of the newly found thoughts roaming around your brain after talking with Jaebum. The night air is cool to the touch, a pleasant chill causing bumps to arise along your skin.

Jaebum was nice, nicer than you would’ve expected him to be. As soon as you saw him bending over you, asking you were all right, you were both intrigued and scared. Scared you were found out and that he would tell you to get lost. But he was different. He had this certain thing about him, even though he wasn’t dressed up like he would normally be within his line of work. You get why he does what he does, his aura told you enough.

After arriving at home, you take a nice and hot shower before crawling into your bed. You’re trying to get comfortable in the dark when, all of a sudden, something crosses your mind: to set an alarm for tomorrow morning. You feel around the little nightstand next to your bed blindly, but your phone is nowhere to be found. And that’s when it hits you. Your phone is still plugged into the sound system in the practice room! 

You mentally curse yourself for being so irresponsible with your things before pressing some buttons on your old digital alarm clock, changing the red numbers to a six and two zeroes. At least you’ll have some time to sneak into the practice studio to grab your phone before arriving at your own desk.

The following morning you tried to go back to the practice room from last night, but unfortunately for you, a group of trainees had walked in there minutes before you, already having started their dance practice. You reluctantly went up to your desk on the ninth floor. You would just have to survive the rest of the day without your phone, hoping it’ll still be there once you return to retrieve it later today.

Work has been tedious since this morning, especially without your phone, causing you to stare at the spreadsheet on your computer screen for over twenty minutes at a time without moving the cursor. Until an unexpected knock on the partition of your office cubicle pulls you from your depressing thoughts.

“Hey…”

You quickly look up to find one of your co-workers standing next to you, acknowledging her presence. “Hey, Chaeyeon. What’s up?”

“Um…” Chaeyeon seems hesitant. “So… there’s someone looking for you.”

At her words, your heart skips a beat. Who? What for? All possible scenarios go through your head. Are you about to be reprimanded for your secret escapades to the practice rooms downstairs? Did someone find your phone down there? Was Jaebum the one that told on you? Will you be able to keep your job?

You cough, clearing your throat. “O-oh… Uh, and w-who would that be?”

The brunette next to you shakes her head, a smile appearing around her lips. Her eyes contain a curious spark, and something about the way she evades your question makes you even more nervous. “I told him to wait in the hallway,” she says with a wink before walking back to her own post.

You reluctantly get up and make your way through the open plan office, to the adjoining hallway where Chaeyeon told you your visitor was waiting for you. You’re wondering who it is. It surely isn’t one of your supervisors. They would’ve just walked right up to your desk if they wanted to speak to you about something. But your questions are answered soon enough as you turn the corner, and you see a familiar silhouette standing in the hallway.

“Jaebum?” you call out to the tall figure as you walk up to him. He turns his head towards you when he hears your voice. “What are you doing here?” you whisper, trying to keep your voice down. You look around, afraid of attracting the unwanted attention of others.

A mischievous smile tugs around Jaebum’s lips. “What? I can’t pay my favourite intruder a little visit?” he jokes, using his hand to ruffle your hair.

“Don’t say that! I could get into trouble,” you whisper. “O-or am I already in trouble? Is that why you’re here?” A wave of slight panic takes over, but is quickly eliminated by the handsome male’s reassuring smile.

“No, you’re not. I came here to give you something, actually,” he explains before fishing a familiar device out of his pocket.

“My phone?”

At your surprise, Jaebum’s smile seems to grow even bigger. “I wanted to give it back sooner, but I didn’t really know how to contact you,” he jokes, earning a chuckle from you. “You really didn’t give me much to work with, you know!”

“I know,” you smirk. “I was hoping to keep a little bit of a low profile. You know, in case you did decide to rat me out.”

Jaebum feigns offence, unable to keep a slight smirk from appearing on his face. “Did you really have that little faith in me?!”

You shake your head at his antics, before apologising. “Okay, okay. Let me buy you a coffee some time, to make it up to you.”

The brunette’s face lights up at your unexpected proposal. “I’ll keep you to that!” he says with a wink, before turning around and making his way back to the elevator. “I’ll call you!” he calls out before the steel doors move in front of him, until he’s no longer in your field of vision.

You too turn around to go back to your own job. Walking back to your desk, you look at your phone, mulling over Jaebum’s last remark. Could he…?

Opening the contacts menu once you get back in your office cubicle, you cannot help but let out a snort, turning heads of some co-workers, when seeing the new addition to your contact list.

Like most people, you tend to take your health for granted. Only in moments like this, when you’re in bed, sweating and coughing up your lungs, you’d appreciate how great you were feeling the day before your nostrils started to get clogged up. With another tissue in your hand every thirty seconds, your throat feeling like it was bleeding with all the coughing you did, and your head pounding, you just laid in bed, unable to move. 

The fever hit you like a truck this morning. You had felt a little under the weather when you went to bed last night, but you would have never expected your health to take an absolute turn for the worst overnight. You feel exhausted. With your throat feeling like you had both swallowed sand and sanding paper sometime during the night, you try to drag yourself out of bed to grab a glass of water. Shielding your eyes from the bright sunlight breaking through the window in the kitchen, you rummage through the cupboards. Finding a glass, filling it with water, grabbing a box of painkillers and some more tissues, you make your way back to your room. Lying in bed, you wait for the medication to kick in and for the coughing fits to stop long enough for you to fall asleep once again.  

You’re pulled out of your slumber by the distant ringing of your phone. Blindly reaching for the device on your nightstand, unable to open your eyes just yet, you manage to knock over your empty glass. “Shit,” you mumble.

Without checking its display, you manage to grab your phone and bring it to your ear. “Hello,” you groan.

“Y/N?” Your boyfriend’s worried voice reaches your ear. “Is everything okay? I texted, but you didn’t reply. Are we still on for later tonight?”

At that moment, you open up your eyes in shock. You totally forgot! 

Jackson and you had been planning this date for weeks. Your schedules had clashed almost every night this month and you were both ecstatic you were both able to come up with a day that worked for both of you. You knew you signed up for these things when you started dating an idol, but you couldn’t deny that it was difficult. Not seeing each other for weeks on end while he was on tour. Him arriving at your place late at night when dance practices went on for longer than expected, him finding you asleep on the couch. You finding him asleep on your couch when he did make movie night on time. His career was bound to put some strain on your relationship, but you understood, and you accepted.

Those were the most important things in your relationship: understanding and acceptance. You understood that he was busy most of the time. You understood that when he came back to you, he had bags underneath his eyes. You understood that he was often too tired to actually sit through the entire film. And you accepted all of it, because you love him. He often told you he felt guilty for putting you through all of that, but that’s just how you knew he loves you too.

“Jackson, I’m so sorry!” you say with a hoarse voice. “I fell asleep an-” You’re interrupted by a coughing fit.  

“Y/N? Babe, are you okay?” Jackson asks worriedly.

“No,” you manage to croak out. “I’m really not feeling well. I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you just call me earlier?” he interjects disappointedly.

“I just woke up. I guess I slept the whole day,” you manage to get out before another coughing fits erupts.

“Well, stay put! I’m on my way,” Jackson yells over the phone, hanging up before you manage to argue.

You let out a sigh, dropping your phone next to you. A wave of guilt crashes over you. You don’t like being dependent on anyone, especially not on him. You know he has a lot to on his plate already, and adding your illness to that only made you feel worse.

Thirty minutes later, you fail to hear the front door open and close, a loud whisper of your name waking you up. 

“Babe?” You let out a hum in response. Seeing you’re awake Jackson comes in, closing the door behind him. “How are you feeling?” he quietly asks you while sitting down on the bed next to you.

“Awful,” you groan, looking up at your boyfriend’s face.

He places the palm of his hand on your forehead. His cold touch feels amazing on your scorching skin. You let out a sigh, but it quickly turns into another coughing fit. Jackson helps you sit up and takes you in his arms, rubbing your back until you’ve calmed down.

“I’m sorry for tonight, Jacks,” you mumble into his shoulder when your coughing has stopped.

“That’s okay,” he hushes. “Don’t worry about that. We still get to spend time together.” He moves away from you to look into your eyes. “Have you eaten yet?

”You shake your head. “I haven’t been able to get out of bed all day, so, no.”

“Okay, so first, I’m going to make you some tea with honey. Then I’m going to order a pizza and th-,” Jackson starts.

“But, Jacks, I really don’t feel like eating something like that right now,” you whine, the thought of having to eat a greasy pizza only making you feel more nauseous.

Jackson lets out a chuckle. “I didn’t say the pizza was for you,” he muses. “I’m going to make you my mom’s magical chicken soup!” You look at him with a confused gaze. “It’s true, that stuff cures everything! Now, sit back, and let me take care of you,” Jackson announces before walking out of your bedroom.

You do as he says and within a few minutes he’s back with a cup of tea, a bottle of water and a bottle cough syrup. He goes to sit beside you on the bed after placing the drinks down on your nightstand.

“Do you think you can manage to sit up, babe?”

You let out a hum. “I think so,” you reply with a nasally tone, as you try to sit up. Jackson, helpful as ever, helps you sit up, moving up the pillow behind you. “Why are you here, Jacks? You shouldn’t be here. I don’t want you to get sick.”

“I’ll be fine, babe. Don’t worry,” he hushes you before pouring some of the cough syrup onto a spoon. “Now, open up and let me make you feel better.”

The determined look in his eyes, makes you roll your eyes, but you obey him anyway. After swallowing the thick, honeylike liquid, you shake your head, goosebumps appearing over your body. Why does this stuff always taste so awful?

“Now, why don’t you lay back down, get some sleep,” Jackson suggests while turning the cap back onto the bottle of cough syrup. You’re too sick to raise any objections, and you let yourself sink back underneath your duvet. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me. I have to call mom to find out how to make that soup.”

“I thought you already brought everything you needed with you?” you ask.

“Yeah, but she just texted me the list of ingredients. I have no idea how or where to begin, honestly,” he jokes.

You chuckle at your boyfriend’s antics. He had never been a great cook. The boy would be able to make about three or four dishes without burning something to a crisp. But for now, you close your eyes and try to get some sleep and you just hope he doesn’t burn down the entire kitchen. You’re too sick to participate in some kind of fire drill.

About fifty minutes later, you feel the weight on the matrass shift before a delicate finger softly caresses your cheek.“Y/N,” the voice of your boyfriend whispers. You groan in reply. “Do you think you’re well enough to sit and eat at the dinner table?”

You nod, face pressed into your pillow. “Five minutes,” you croak, causing Jackson to chuckle before feeling his lips press against your forehead.

Jackson runs his fingers through the little tuft of hair peeking out from underneath the covers, causing your eyes to flutter open. “Wake up, princess. Food’s ready,” he singsongs.

“Princess?” you ask sleepily. “I feel more like a troll right now.”

Jackson lets out a deep chuckle. “But you’re a very beautiful troll.” A scoff escaping your lips at your boyfriend’s cheesiness. “Come on, babe. Let’s get you to eat some chicken soup,” he says before reaching to the other side to pat your butt hidden under the thick duvet.

After dragging yourself out of bed, putting on some fluffy socks and wrapping yourself into one of the hoodies he once left at your place, Jackson guides you to your kitchen. You freeze in the doorframe when you notice the scene in front of you, a smile creeping up your face.

The room is dark, lit candles spread out onto the counter and dinner table the only light source. The table is set for two, two steaming plates of chicken soup waiting for you. The box of tissues next to a small basket of bread tops it off.

You let out a soft chuckle at the sight in front of you. “I thought you were going to eat pizza, babe.”

“Oh, I will, if I’m still hungry after this,” he jokes before walking towards the table. “I figured we might as well turn this into a date,” Jackson explains. “But only if you feel up to it. We can move to the couch if you want.”

“It’s fine, Jacks. Thank you,” you interrupt him, turning towards him. “I’d kiss you, but I don’t want you to get sick,” you muse.

“I guess I’ll have to nurse you back to health quickly, then,” he giggles before guiding you to your seat.

After dinner you went back to bed, Jackson insisting on cleaning up after dinner himself. The soup tasted better than expected and it actually did you a lot of good after not having eaten anything at all today. You remind yourself to message his mom later on to thank her for sharing her recipe.

You end up finding it hard to fall asleep this time. The fact that you’ve practically slept all day today and the noises coming from the kitchen making it harder than before. Not catching any sleep soon, you decide to check your social media as long as your headache permits it, until Jackson joins you.

Soon enough, the rummaging in the kitchen dies down and you find your boyfriend walking into your bedroom. Letting out a huff, he crawls over to you before laying down. He puts his arm around you and pulls you towards him. You let him, snuggling your face against his chest, placing your hand over his heart to calm you down. You close your eyes.

“You know I love you, right?” you say, your voice muffled by the cotton of his t-shirt.

“I know,” he says, his fingers ghosting over your arm on his chest before you feel his lips placing a gentle kiss on the crown of your head.

You absolutely adore your friend. You just hate him for the fact that he introduced his band members to you. And it’s not because you didn’t like his members. No, not at all. The exact opposite is the case. When Taehyung introduced you to six other people he deemed important to him, you felt honoured and it didn’t take long for all of you to hit it off. The boys were also excited to meet the girl Taehyung mentioned every time when he spoke about home. But how amazing as it was that you became a friend to all of the guys quickly, there was a problem however. A very charming problem that went by the name of Park Jimin.  

The boys all seemed very nice when you first met them, but there was something about Jimin that made your heart flutter. You could see that he was genuinely glad to meet you, through a smile that reached his eyes, transforming them into mere slits. You noticed his jawline was so sharp it could cut through glass. The way his cheeks puffed up and turned slightly pink when you answered his smile with one of your own. The way his luscious lips curled up while you moved to the others to finish your round of introductions.

Jimin instantly made you feel welcome and you liked that about him. You came to know that making others feel at ease was part of his personality, part of his charm, the part that made you feel attracted to him. At first, you thought he was flirting with you, but as you got to know him and see that he acted like that towards others, you found out that it was just you who was imagining things.

That’s why it was so difficult for you to deal with your feelings for him in the long run. He kept being nice to you, being his flirty self. Kept you from losing hope that maybe, one day, he might feel the same way about you as you did about him. But that day didn’t come.

It is hard. It is hard to love someone who you know will never love you back the same way. And it hurts to have to see them every day and be confronted with that idea. But as much as you wanted to be seen as something more than a friend, you couldn’t bring yourself to cut ties with him. You told yourself that you’d rather have Jimin in your life as a friend, than not have him in your life at all. But you could only handle so much.

You were still trying to forget about Jimin by focusing on something else. Or rather on someone else. In an attempt of cheering you up months ago, your friends told you that the only thing that would help you, was to meet a nice guy. And that’s what they arranged. They tried to set you up with a couple of guys, but none of them would meet your standards. Or the other way around for that matter. It actually came to a point where you were confident you would stay single and all alone for the rest of your life, that no one was ever going to love you in that way.

But a couple of weeks ago, your friends were finally successful in setting you up with a decent guy. He was nice, not a jerk like many of the others were, and you enjoyed yourself on the first date. So, you gave him a second chance.

After slathering another layer of mascara onto your eyelashes, you smile at your reflection, satisfied with your work. You stand up, run your hands over your black dress to straighten it out, and twist and turn in front of the mirror to check if everything’s in place. Grabbing your clutch, phone and keys, you were on your way to your date.

Your date, Henry, had suggested you two had a slightly more casual date compared to when he took you to a fancy restaurant on the first date. The bar he had suggested was the perfect place to hang out and get to know each other a little bit better over a drink or two. You had actually been there before. Jin, Taehyung and Jungkook had took you there once. It wasn’t a really well-known bar, so they could have a drink and hang out without worrying to much about being recognized, but with a great atmosphere nonetheless.

You were looking forward to tonight. Henry seemed nice enough during the first date. You found out that you had similar interests and you were able to talk all throughout the night, something that you hadn’t been able to accomplish with any of the other guys your friends had set you up with. He was handsome too, with his perfectly styled medium brown hair, captivating dark eyes, and beautifully shaped lips.

Walking into the bar, you are already able to make out his figure standing at the bar. You make your way over to him, your heels clicking on the hardwood floor, before delicately laying your hand on his shoulder. You feel him jump a little underneath your touch, but as soon as he notices it’s you wanting his attention, he smiles.

“Y/N!” he beams at you, standing up to give you a hug and a kiss on your cheek. “Wow, look at you!”

You mimic his cheerful expression and let out a laugh at his compliment “Thank you! You don’t look so bad yourself. How are you doing?”

“Not bad,” he shrugs, smiling. “What can I get you?” Henry points at the bartender.

“Uh… I’d like a rum and coke, please.”

Henry turns to the bartender. “A beer, and a rum and coke for the lady.” The bartender nods and grabs the glasses to pour your drinks. “So, how have you been?”

After moving to a table and having exchanged pleasant conversations for about two and a half hours, you find yourself feeling a little bit tipsy. The drinks were nothing you couldn’t handle, but they caused a pleasant buzz to course through your veins. You also noticed that, with every drink, Henry also started to be a little more flirty. Not that you minded. You enjoyed his compliments, but the small, fleeting touches on your arm and upper leg made you feel a little uncomfortable. That’s why you were actually kind of glad you spotted a friendly face after a while.

Henry’s in the middle of a story about his childhood when you spot Jimin and Jungkook walk into the bar. You smile in their direction, hoping to catch your friends’ attention. Henry notices your focus has shifted onto something behind him, causing him to turn his head. When the boys notice you, they send a wide smile in your direction and you wave. You apologise to Henry about the sudden interruption, explaining that they’re your friends.

“Hey Y/N!” Jungkook greets you. “I don’t get to see you here often.”

“Hello, guys! What are you doing here?” you greet both of them back.

“Just having a couple of drinks after practise,” Jimin explains, his gaze moving to the man next to you.

“Oh, err… Henry,” your date awkwardly stands up and holds out his hand to greet them. You notice Jimin eyeing him up and down while shaking hands. He introduces himself as your date, before moving his other arm around your shoulders unexpectedly. You smile nervously when you see both Jungkook and Jimin look in its direction. “Er… Would you like to join us?” Henry asks them.

“Oh, no,” Jungkook answers, shaking his head. “We wouldn’t want to intrude on your date.”

“No, it’s okay. If I want to impress the lady, I guess I’ll have to get her friends’ stamp of approval first,” Henry jokes, smiling before pointing at the two seats at your table.

Jimin and Jungkook take a seat across from you and Henry after beckoning one of the waitresses to the table to order drinks. When the lady leaves, the boys turn to you once again.

“So, how long have you been friends?” Henry starts the conversation, curious about your friendship with the two males.

“Well, I don’t know.” You shift your attention to the boys across from you. “When exactly did Taehyung introduce me to you guys?”

“Taehyung?” Henry seems lost.

“Well, I’ve been friends with Taehyung since I was little. And I think it was just a little bit before their debut that he introduced me to all of his members. So, about four or five years now,” you explain, bringing your glass to your lips.

“I can’t believe it’s been that long already,” Jungkook chimes in, before a short silence falls.

Jimin clears his throat. “So, how did you two meet?”

“Jennie set us up,” Henry replies, aiming a smile at you before moving his arm from behind you and picking up his glass. “I’m a co-worker of hers.”

Jungkook nods in reply. “And what do you do exactly?”

Henry smiles, carefully placing his hand on your thigh under the table after putting his glass back. The skin of his fingers is cool to the touch, sending chills all over your body. Before Henry is able to begin to explain what his profession entails, you excuse yourself to go to the bathroom, suddenly uncomfortable.

After relieving yourself, you make your way over to the mirror across from the stalls in the restrooms. You run your hands over the fabric of your dress to straighten it out a little bit, before rummaging around in your purse looking for your compact powder. After applying some of it to eliminate some of the shine that has formed on your nose and cheekbones, you lean onto the sink, gaze moving over your reflection.

For some reason or another you don’t feel like going back to the table. Thinking about it, you were actually glad to find your friends walking into the bar, glad to have someone else to talk to, glad that someone intervened. You let out a big sigh. Even though you were so happy that Henry seemed to be normal and respectful at your first date, you started to feel more and more uncomfortable with him. At first, you thought it was just the coldness of his fingers, but now you realise that Henry wasn’t the one you saw yourself dating either.

Suddenly, a loud noise coming from outside the restrooms pulls you out of your thoughts. Alarmed, you quickly make your way out of the bathrooms only to find yourself gasping at the scene in front of you.

Henry is on the floor, one hand holding his bleeding nose, the other supporting himself. Jungkook is holding back Jimin, who looks completely furious. You have never seen so much rage in his eyes. You quickly make your way over to Henry, who’s trying to stand up.

“What the hell happened here?!” you exclaim, visibly disturbed by the picture in front of you. Your eyes land on Jimin’s figure being held by a frowning Jungkook. Your gaze is met by the latter.

“He hit me. H-he just hit me,” Henry stammers next to you, visibly stunned by Jimin’s behaviour.

“I didn’t just hit you, you sexist asshole!”

“What?” You don’t understand. “Jungkook?” You look at him, pleading, hoping he’s in his right mind to tell you what happened.

Meanwhile, Jungkook has let Jimin go, but the frowns are still visible on both of the boys’ faces. “Well, your lovely date was just asking us for advice on how to get inside your pants, talking about how you were too prude to ‘give it to him’ on your first date after commenting on your behind!”

At Jungkook’s blunt words, your mouth falls open. You did feel your date getting a little more impatient with his touching, but you would have never expected him to ask your friends about what his next move should be to get you into his bed! You turn your head towards Henry, who has just managed to get up. He looks at you with an apologetic look in his eyes.

“Is that true?” you ask determined, surprising everyone, including yourself, with calmness in your voice.

“Er… I mean-” he stammers, holding his nose, before you interrupt him with a little more urgency in your tone of voice. “Is that true?”

The man nods while looking down at his shoes, visibly disappointed in the situation he got himself into. But before anyone can say anything else, you make your way to the exit, a wave of embarrassment crashing over you. You feel like you can crack any minute now, and you prefer not to give the cause of it the satisfaction of seeing you in tears. As calmly as you can, you make your way outside, ignoring your friends who are calling your name. You wave for a taxi, determined to go home as soon as possible, to find comfort in your warm bed.

It must have been about an hour ago when you came back home and crawled in your bed in order to wallow in self-pity. An hour of crying, sobbing and ruining your makeup until you are interrupted by someone knocking on the door of you apartment. You settle for ignoring the banging, burying your face deeper into your pillows.

“Y/N, I know you’re home. Please open the door,” a soft voice you recognise as Jimin’s calls out to you from behind the flimsy wood of your apartment door. How the hell did he even get past the front door downstairs?

You let out a sigh, not sure if you should let him in. You don’t feel like talking right now, but you feel that turning Jimin away right now wouldn’t be fair to him considering he hasn’t done anything wrong. While thinking if you should let him in or not, you hear the lock turn. He must have grabbed the spare key you once left at the dorms for the boys before coming over.

The door opens and closes once again. “Y/N?”

“Bedroom,” you mumble into the pillow, but loud enough for him to hear.

You hear him walk across the living room from the front door and into the hallway. But the footsteps halt once they reach your bedroom door. For a few seconds there’s silence, like he’s contemplating whether or not to open the door, before he speaks up. “Can I come in?”

“Yeah… it’s okay,” you sigh before straightening yourself up.

Jimin opens the door and walks in before closing it behind him. He doesn’t bother turning on the lights, leaving you two in a dimly lit room, only the street light outside providing a light source through a small chink in the curtains.

Jimin doesn’t say anything, he just silently makes his way over to your bed before taking place next to you. His arm reaches behind you, gently pulling your shoulder to bring you closer to him. You let him, your head finding purchase on his shoulder. You two sit there for a little, not saying anything while staring at the dresser at the end of the bed in silence, his thumb pressing calming circles into the skin of your shoulder.

“I’m sorry I made a scene at the bar,” Jimin whispers.

You dry of your tears, a soft smile appearing on your face. “It’s fine… He actually kind of deserved it,” you chuckle.

“I know,” Jimin smirks, before another silence falls over the two of you.

“You’re not going to get into any trouble because of it, do you?” you ask him after a while. You lift your head off of Jimin’s shoulder, leaning back in order to look him in the eye.

“I’ll be fine. No one really saw what happened.” You nod, relieved there weren’t many people that were able to witness the ordeal.  “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. It just surprised me a little bit. And I guess I’m a bit embarrassed about falling for his act,” you shrug.

“Did you really like him?” Jimin asks you sincerely.

His question makes you think. It feels weird to talk to Jimin about this, considering your feelings for him. The fact that he’s right there, his arm draped around you, makes it harder for you to concentrate and not bask in the warmth of his body next to you.

“I don’t know… He was nice, but I still didn’t feel anything. Even if you hadn’t shown up, this would’ve probably been the last date anyway.” Jimin nods, his relieved smile going unnoticed. “You know what?... I’m done with dating. I’m done with the rejection, the lies…” You swallow your tears, having done enough crying for tonight.

You feel Jimin sit up straight, turning towards you, causing you to have to do the same. He looks at you with concerned eyes. “Don’t be like that,” he starts, cupping your cheeks. “That guy was just a bastard, you just need to find someone nice, a guy that’s not a fuckboy.”

Jimin wipes the tears that did escape, running his thumbs over the apples of your cheeks. “Someone that will treat you with care and respect. Someone that will see what a beautiful, kind and amazing person you are.”

His words only make you feel worse. Why is he so nice to you? If he was anything like Yoongi, he’d just pat you on the back, say ‘there, there’ and just try to comfort you like that. And why doesn’t he notice that he is the one he’s describing?

You shake your head, not being able to handle this kind of pain anymore. It’s time to do something, anything, to change this situation. So, you take a chance, blurting out the first thing that comes into mind. “Like you?”

At first, Jimin seems speechless, pulling back his hands from your cheeks. He blinks a couple of times, not really sure about what he’d just heard. When his gaze moves down to his hands fiddling in his lap, you are almost sure you’ve made a mistake with voicing your suggestion. But your heart starts beating a million miles a minute when he looks up and breathes out a silent yes.

“Why not?” he continues, a hopeful smile pulling on his lips.

You don’t reply, placing your hand on his thigh when he slightly leans forward. His gaze moves from your eyes to your lips. There’s a certain hunger in the way he looks at them and you cannot deny the feeling that starts to pool in the bottom your stomach. He runs his tongue over his bottom lip. You follow the movement, unable not to notice how plump and inviting his lips look.

You lean forward when he does the same, until your lips meet and your eyes flutter closed. One of his hands moves from his lap to your cheek, gently cupping it while moving his lips against yours languidly. It’s exactly like you’ve imagined. He’s handling you with care, like you could break any second. You love the feel of his lips against yours even when his gentle nature slowly starts to unravel when you reciprocate the kiss, running your tongue over his lips asking for entrance. And that’s when he pulls back, earning a whine from you.

“I’m sorry,” he softly smiles. “I don’t want to take advantage of you. I’m not like those guys.”

You shake your head, grabbing his wrists. “You’re not. Not at all.”

“I just don’t want to fuck this up, okay.” He looks at you hopefully. You answer with a nod, your sulky look pulling a chuckle from his lips. “Why don’t you try and get some sleep? I think you’ve had quite an eventful night.”

Jimin starts to get off of the bed, until you stop him by grabbing his wrist. “Will you at least stay?”

The pleading look in your eyes makes him snicker. He slips underneath the blanket with you before hugging you close to him.