On the ninth of March, Jieun stared hard at the little box she held in her two hands. It a small white box with a blue ribbon wrapped around it. In the beginning, she thought that the package was okay, especially since she wasn't close to any of the BTS members and didn't know who the party was for. All she knew was that Jimin was holding a party and that she had to bring a gift for a male idol. However, the more she looked at the box, the more she started to question herself.

Is this a good gift? she wondered. Maybe I should've gotten a gift card instead.

"We're here."

The manager turned off the engine and looked up at the building. Jieun's eyes rolled over to the entrance of the apartment. She glanced down at her phone just to double-check on the address.

"I guess we're already here," Jieun murmured, getting out of the car.

"Remember our deal, right? We're only letting you go because there are other idols there. Also, we're picking you up in two hours. It's dark and we're sure that there's going to be paparazzi hanging around."

Jieun widened her eyes. "Wait, what?"

"Oh, right. I'm picking you,' Junghyun said. "Have fun, don't drink, and stay safe!"

"Wait, why am I being picked up so early—"

"See you at eleven!" Junghyun exclaimed. With that, he started the engine and drove off before Jieun could make any complete sentences.

She took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. She turned her body back to the apartment. Then, she looked back down at her gift.

As I thought, this doesn't feel right, she thought. Something feels terribly wrong.

"You're…IU, right?" A voice behind Jieun startled her. She turned around and saw a round-faced boy with gentle brown hair. Most of his face was covered with a hat and a mouth mask. The boy smiled and walked over to her. "Hi! I'm not sure if you know me, but I'm Sandeul from B1A4."

Jieun stared at the boy. She knew who he was, but she didn't know a lot about him. All she knew was that his real name was Lee Junghwan and that he was the main vocalist of B1A4. She had watched him in a lot of musical variety shows like Immortal Songs 2 or the Duet Song Festival. 

"I listened to your debut song. It was called 'Good Day,' right? You did an amazing job with those high notes at the end," Junghwan said, praising her vocal skills.

Jieun found herself blushing in embarrassment. "Well, I still have a lot to learn…"

"Are you also here for the BTS member's party?" Junghwan asked.

"Ah, yes!" she answered, nodding her head.

"Let's go in together." He looked up for a brief moment. "Let's go in fast. I feel like someone's watching us."

Jieun nodded. She followed him into the building until they reached the elevator. Once they were in the elevator box, Junghwan decided to continue their conversation from earlier.

"You're a hot topic right now amongst the guys," he commented.

"A-Am I?" she stuttered.

"You are. Haven't you heard some of the guys talking?" Junghwan asked. She shook her head. "Well, that's surprising. I thought that there would be some idols who would want to date you right away."

"Well, I don't think that I'm that popular," she murmured.

"I think you have some sort of popularity. Otherwise, you wouldn't be invited to this party," Junghwan said. He let out a small sigh. "I just don't know how long I'm going to stay."

"Why?"

The doors opened. The two stepped out and started walking in the hall ways.

"Well, I was invited because Seokjin told me to come…"

"Seokjin?"

"BTS's Jin." He let out a small laugh. "Well, at least I know that you're not acquainted with Jin."

"O-Oh. Sorry. I'm not too familiar with this group," she told him. "I only know two members. In fact, I was invited by Jimin."

"Jimin? That guy's nice. See, I wouldn't mind staying for a long time if it was his birthday."

Jieun frowned a bit. "Wait, who exactly is the birthday guy?"

Junghwan stopped at a specific door and rang on the door bell. "You really don't know?"

She shook her head. Before Junghwan could answer her question, the door swung opened. Jieun held her breath, but let out a sigh of relief when she saw that it was Seokjin who had opened the door. Seokjin smiled at Junghwan and gave him a handshake before looking down at Jieun and giving her a simple smile.

"Welcome!" Seokjin exclaimed.

"Dude, I can't stay long," Junghwan said. "I need to go later."

"I don't think it'll matter too much to Yoongi," Seokjin said.

Jieun's heart stopped. In her head, she kept convincing herself that she heard the wrong name. She was praying deep inside, hoping that the birthday boy wasn't the Yoongi she knew. She hitched her breath and nervously glanced up at Seokjin.

"B-By 'Yoongi,' do you mean Suga?" she asked quietly.

"Well, yeah. There's only one Yoongi we know, and that's our very own Suga," Seokjin said. He stared down at the small box in her hands. "Is that for Yoongi? Want me to take it in? We're putting the presents in his room for now—"

"I'm sorry," Jieun said quickly. "I think I should leave."

I'm not ready, she thought. I'm not ready to come in and celebrate his birthday as a stranger or as an old friend. She bit her tongue. Ugh, how could I forget Yoongi's birthday? Stupid, stupid Jieun!

"Why? Is it because you found out that the birthday boy is Yoongi?" Junghwan asked.

"Wait? You didn't know that, but you still came?" Seokjin asked, surprised.

"U-Um, Jimin kind of told me that it was just a party for some boy, and I thought it was one of his f-friends…" She looked up. "N-Not like I'm saying that Jimin and Yoon—Suga aren't friends or anything! I'm sure they're very…close…?"

Jieun quickly started to laugh. She wasn't sure what to say at all. Did she sound like she was making excuses? She didn't want to come off as a rude person or anything. Her mind was jumbled up with useless thoughts as she continued to let out a small laugh.

Seokjin, who started to understand that Jieun was feeling uncomfortable, turned to Junghwan. The least thing he wanted to do was make a girl feel awkward, especially since they weren't close to begin with.

"So did you two come together?" Seokjin asked. "You guys know each other?"

"I actually met her on the way," Junghwan revealed. "Anyway, are you going to let us in or not?"

"Sure," Seokjin said, stepping aside to let him in. Junghwan walked in, but Jieun stood still at her spot with a pale complexion. "Are you okay? Should I get Jimin for you?"

She forced a smile. "N-No. I think I'm going to call my manager and go home."

"But you just came. It'd be a shame if you didn't attend the party," he told her. He looked behind his shoulders, then leaned closer to Jieun. "To be honest, Yoongi doesn't have a lot of idol friends. He often distances himself and only gets along with certain members. The people who are invited to this party are really just our friends, not his. Knowing Junghwan, he probably mentioned something about going home early or not liking Yoongi's personality, right?"

Jieun slowly nodded her head. It was true. Junghwan did seem a little hesitant attending the party.

"Then doesn't that mean that I shouldn't stay?" she asked him in a small voice.

"Mm… Well, honestly, I kind of want to see if Yoongi will open up a bit if you're around." He let out a small laugh. "In the beginning, I didn't understand why Jimin was allowed to plan out Yoongi's party and all that. You see, Yoongi and Jimin don't get along at all. They're always arguing about something to the point where I can't really catch up." He scratched his head. "I was a bit surprised to see you right now. The last time Yoongi saw you, he seemed pretty shock." She flinched, and he took note of it. "I was thinking that it would be best to keep him away from you, but Jimin seems to have faith in you."

"So what are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying that you should stay and actually greet the birthday boy. After all, you got him a present. Besides, if you're not here to celebrate, then you might as well take advantage on making friends with others."

Jieun looked down at her gift. Seokjin had a point. She came here with the mindset that she would get closer to people, not further away from them. If she called her manager right now, she would probably be scolded for begging to go in the first place and ending up not wanting to go. 

She let out a sigh.

"Well, I'm not trying to force you," Seokjin said quickly. The more he thought about what he just said, the more he felt like he was forcing her to stay. "You can leave, of course, but I'm just saying…"

"What's going on out there?" The familiar voice became more clear as the foot steps got louder. Jieun froze while Seokjin casually looked behind him. "Why are you still out there? Aren't you closing the door? Sandeul is making thing ing awkward and I can't deal with—"

The complaints stopped. Jieun quickly stared down at her shoes, unable to hold her head up. Her heart pounded against her chest, fearing to meet eyes with the old friend. Her fingers gripped tighter around the small box as if it was trying to cover the gift from his view.

"Yoongi, you actually came up to the door for once," Seokjin stated.

"Why the is she here?" Yoongi snapped, giving Jieun a disgusted glare. Her heart nearly broke into a thousand pieces.

"Hey, Yoongi, that's not very nice," Seokjin said softly.

"Who the hell invited her?" Yoongi glared at Seokjin. "Was it you?"

"No! Not me!" Seokjin said quickly, shaking his head. "I don't even have her number."

"Number…" Yoongi clenched his teeth. "ing Jimin…!" He turned, but Seokjin grabbed him. "What? Let me go!"

"Yoongi, it's your birthday. Don't let this get into your head," Seokjin told him.

"But he invited her!"

"What's so bad about Jieun? She's a nice girl!" Seokjin argued.

Yoongi narrowed his eyes and kept quiet for a moment. "I expected more from you. I'm disappointed."

"Like I thought," Jieun said, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear, "I should go."

"Is your manager waiting for you downstairs?" Seokjin asked. She shook her head. He turned to Yoongi. "Hey, go down and wait with her."

Jieun and Yoongi widened their eyes.

"Why the would I do that?" Yoongi snapped.

"Yoongi, it's late. A girl shouldn't be out this late, and you know that," Seokjin said. "Besides, didn't you say that you wanted to leave the room? You said that you didn't like how some of the girls were trying to cling onto you. Isn't this the perfect time to leave?"

"I blame V for that. He shouldn't have invited all those girls," Yoongi said.

"Well, why don't you take this opportunity to step outside?" Seokjin suggested. He stepped aside again for Yoongi to leave. 

"Why don't you do it?" Yoongi asked.

"She's still holding your present," Seokjin pointed out.

Yoongi paused to glance down at her hands. Jieun let out a gasp and hid the gift behind her back. She continued to look away from him, unable to gather the courage to give him a glance. The boy continued to look at her, then looked out the window. Afterwards, he sighed loudly with annoyance. He went ahead and slipped on his shoes before leaving the room.

"I hate you so much," Yoongi muttered.

"Happy birthday," Seokjin said, giving Yoongi a proud pat on the back. He closed the door when Yoongi finally stepped outside.

The two stood still in an awkward manner. They weren't sure on how to start a topic, or even if they should start one. They haven't spoken to each other in years, let alone seen each other. 

What are you doing, Yoongi? he asked himself. Just ask for the present and leave.

Just as he was going to force her to give him his present, Jieun decided to speak up.

"Happy birthday," she mumbled. She glanced over to see Yoongi's shocked expression. "I'm sorry that I forgot…"

"You came to this party without knowing whose birthday it was?" Yoongi asked, confused over her apology.

"Sorry," she repeated.

"So you basically half-heartedly got that present, right?" Yoongi said, pointing at the gift.

Jieun widened her eyes for a brief moment, clearly offended by his words. Without a second thought, she shot him a cruel glare.

"So what if I did?" she asked in a challenging tone.

Yoongi glowered at her. "Why the hell are you here? Who invited you?"

"Jimin. Problem?" she snapped.

ing Jimin…! I should've known! Yoongi cried out. "Yes. There is definitely a problem. It's my birthday, and the people I like should be here."

"People you like? Really? Weren't you just complaining about how annoying Sandeul was?" Jieun pointed out.

"He's a different scenario," Yoongi said, trying to defend himself.

"You know, you grew up to a jerk," Jieun said.

"What?"

"You have a terrible personality and people around you hate you," Jieun pointed out. "Like, what the were you doing for the past years? Getting everyone to hate you?"

"I'm likable!" he shouted. 

"It doesn't seem like it," Jieun muttered, scoffing. She looked down at her small gift, then threw it against Yoongi's chest. The gift fell down on the floor. "Here. Take your stupid present. I'm going to go downstairs myself."

"Wow, disrespectful much?" Yoongi said loudly, making sure that she was listening. He reached down to pick his gift. "I wonder what's in this stupid little box. Perhaps garbage?"

"I can't believe you," Jieun said.

"Oh really? It's mutual, how nice," he replied. He dusted the box and examined it, making sure there wasn't any dents.

"God, I hope I don't see you any time soon," she muttered, storming away.

"That's mutual, too!" Yoongi shouted, making sure that his voice reached her. They continued to stick their tongue out at each other while keeping an ugly frown until she got into the elevator. He rolled his eyes when he saw her disappear behind the elevator doors.

He turned around and walked over back to where the party took place. He was about to open the door, but realized that it was already open. Frowning, he gently pushed the door opened, only to see Seokjin fall outside. Yoongi stared at him, while Seokjin awkwardly stood still on the floor.

In minutes, Seokjin got back on his feet. He dusted himself and cleared his throat while giving Yoongi a sheepish grin. Yoongi gave him an "are-you-kidding-me" look before Seokjin was able to properly explain himself.

"I got worried," Seokjin said simply. He let out a small laugh, but Yoongi kept the same facial expression. "Okay, I got it. That's not an excuse to spy on other people, but still."

"If you were that worried, you should've dropped her off at the elevator," Yoongi said.

"Well, I was thinking of that, but it looked like you and Jieun had something," Seokjin said. He paused. "To be honest, I didn't hear much of what you two said. I just heard a lot of yelling." He chuckled. "You kind of sound like a couple, you know?"

Yoongi blinked his eyes. His ears turned red, but he scoffed loudly and rolled his eyes again.

"I think you're lacking sleep," Yoongi said. "Go to bed early today."

"Why? It's your birthday. Besides, I have nothing in my schedule," said Seokjin.

"Whatever." Yoongi paused for a minute. "Seokjin, be honest."

"Hm?"

"Am I dislikable?"

"Wha—at?" Seokjin cried out, increasing the pitch of his voice. "Who said that? Who would say that? Yoongi, people like you! They might not show it, but there are definitely people who like you!"

Yoongi looked at him. Then, he only nodded and took a deep breath.

"Well, then," Yoongi said, "let's go in and finish up this party. Oh, and if you see Jimin, make sure you send him to me. I need to teach him a lesson."

Seokjin let out another nervous laugh. He followed Yoongi inside, while making a mental note to tell Jimin to avoid Yoongi at all cost.

• • •

"Be honest. Did you mess up?"

"What?"

"Did you make someone hate you? I mean, you were looking forward to this party, but you ended up calling me to pick you up early. You must've have done something terrible," Junghyun said as he drove Jieun away from the apartment.

"I told you, I didn't mess up. I just didn't feel too good," Jieun said. She looked out the window and pondered a bit. A small pink blush appeared on her cheeks. "Manager, if a boy picks up your gift and dusts it, what does it mean?"

"You dropped the gift? Is that why you called me to pick you up? Were you embarrassed?" The manager paused when he arrived at a stop light. "You didn't throw the gift at the birthday boy, did you?"

Jieun faked a laugh. "What? Me? Throw something to my seniors? No way, no way."

"Jieun, I don't like your tone—"

"Can you just answer my question?" she asked. "If a guy picks up a gift you dropped and dusts it, doesn't mean there's a little good in him?" She leaned closer to her manager. "Especially if the guy hates you?"

"You got a guy to hate you!" Junghyun asked, raising his voice in horror.

"Just answer my question!"

"I don't know? Maybe?" Junghyun stared at her throw the rearview mirror. "Jieun, what's this all about? Who hates you? What did you do?"

"Nothing, nothing," Jieun said, looking out the window again. "It's just a hypothetical question. I gave my gift properly and left early because I was feeling tired."

The manager looked at Jieun worriedly, but it was hard to read her expression in the dark. The light flashed green. He took a deep breath, then continued to drive in silence.

"Jieun, let me know if anything happens," Junghyun said seriously. "You're doing very well in our company. I don't want anything unnecessary to come to your way."

"Okay, manager," Jieun replied. She continued to look at the streets with a small blush on her face. Then, she giggled to herself.

He still makes a stupid face when he tries to hate somebody, she thought, remembering how he stuck his tongue and frowned at her earlier at the elevator.