"Jimin hyung? Jimin hyung… Hey, Jimin!"

"Leave him alone, Jungkook. He's been like that all day," Taehyung said, texting some random girl on his phone. "He's no fun today."

"Do you know what happened to him?" Jungkook asked, rising from the couch. He glanced back at Jimin, who was still sitting on the couch, curled up and dazed. "He doesn't look well."

"With that kind of expression, don't you think it has to do something with a girl?" Hoseok asked, frowning while examining the dumbfounded boy. "Anyone know who he's close to?"

"Isn't he close with that IU girl?" Taehyung asked.

"'IU girl' as in Lee Jieun?" Hoseok asked.

"Jieun!" Jimin blurted. His eyes regained focus and he stared at the three boys, who stared at him back in shock. Jimin looked around his surroundings, then groaned as he hid his face in his knees.

Bingo, the three thought. 

"So what's the whole deal with IU?" Hoseok asked Jimin. When he realized that he wasn't getting any response, he turned to Jungkook. "So what's Jimin's whole deal with IU?"

"I don't know. They seemed to be really close. After all, they were scheming against Yoongi," Jungkook said.

"You don't know?" Taehyung asked, a little surprised. The two stared at him. "IU is in a dating scandal with Suga." He scoffed quietly to himself. "And he always told me to watch out being near women."

"Is that why he's like that? Because he got IU involved in a huge scandal?" Hoseok asked, raising an eyebrow. "So is her career over?"

"I hope not," Jungkook said, frowning. "I really like her songs. I was looking forward to her next one."

"Hey, Jimin!" Hoseok called him, trying to catch his attention. "Jimin, are you listening? Did you apologize to Jieun for getting her involved in this mess? You might be responsible for ruining her career."

Jimin finally looked at Hoseok and glared at him. "Who the cares? To hell with her!"

The three boys stared at him with incredibly shocked eyes. They watched him get up from the couch and storm into his room. He angrily shut the door behind him, clearly showing that he wasn't in the mood to say or do anything.

Jimin couldn't help himself. He knew that he was being rude to s, but he just couldn't help act like a child. He plopped down on his bed and buried his face in his pillow. He tried to drown his thoughts in the silence, but that didn't help him at all. He shot his eyes wide open again and sat on his bed, trying to sort out his feelings.

In all honesty, he had heard Yoongi and Jieun "making out" or whatever they were doing in there. He had eavesdropped on their entire conversation, starting from when they argued over her song book to Yoongi asking her if he could ki—

He threw his pillow across the room and groaned loudly. He quickly laid down on his bed and swooped under the covers, trying to block out any thoughts of the event that happened yesterday.

Why did that happen? Didn't Jieun hate Yoongi? Wasn't Jieun like him? Weren't they supposed to despise Yoongi together? Did Yoongi do something that made her fall in love with him, that made her so blinded that she couldn't see the true Yoongi anymore? What had happened between them that made them go so far as to kiss—

"!" Jimin shouted, punching the mattress. He crawled into a little ball and continued to hide under his covers. While seething, he closed his eyes, trying to brush away any thoughts of Jieun.

But those thoughts wouldn't leave; they just wouldn't go away.

He opened his eyes. His chest squeezed and his eyes slightly watered. He clawed his shirt over his chest while biting his tongue. No matter what he did or what he tried to do, nothing worked. He just couldn't help but think about what had happened between Yoongi and Jieun behind those closed doors that he had longed to enter. Just the thought of Jieun being happy with Yoongi hurt.

It hurt a lot.

• • •

Yoongi had never felt so apologetic and guilty in his life. He never thought that he could harbor those kinds of feelings until he found himself sitting at the CEO's office with the CEO frowning right across from him. The staff members looked ashamed for not managing the scandal properly, but they also seemed angry with Yoongi's carelessness.

He played with his hands as he watched the CEO of Big Hit Entertainment slide a piece of paper towards him. Yoongi glance down, and noticed that it was a report. There was no picture or anything—just a bunch of text.

"Is this true?" the CEO asked. "The reporter who's been harassing us with this kept threatening us, but we brushed it away because there was no physical evidence. However, I need you to read through it before we give out a statement."

Yoongi nodded. He glanced at the text for the first time, then carefully read every detail of the article. As he had expected, it was a dating scandal between him and Jieun. There wasn't any picture of the two kissing, which he was thankful for because that would've crushed both careers. The article only stated that it was a rumor within the entertainment industry, and that Yoongi and Jieun were close friends in high school which led them to date. The article even included that the two had been dating since high school and that they were still dating as of now. It stated that Jieun's debut song was a success due to Yoongi's influences in the entertainment industry, as he had already established his place in the world of idols.

Well, there's wrong, Yoongi thought, finishing the article. I had nothing to do with her debut success. Besides, I wasn't even trying to get close to her during that time. I was trying to get away from her.

"Of course, since you're a popular member, we're going to deny it," the CEO said. "However, we just wanted to confirm your relationship with IU. There must've been a reason why someone would assume that you two were dating."

Yoongi paused. He wasn't going to tell him that they had kissed—twice. He bit his bottom lip, trying to think of a good excuse or a way to change the subject.

"Well," Yoongi started, clearing his throat, "we're friends. High school friends. We had, um, difficult times in high school and we depended on each other." The CEO raised his eyebrow. "W-We didn't depend on each other by dating! No, it's not like that! We both liked music and were really close friends. That's it."

The CEO glanced down at another piece of paper. "Well, that matches with what a staff from LOEN Entertainment wrote to us. IU also claimed that you two were just really close school friends back then and recently reunited."

Nice, Yoongi thought, smiling a little. We're on the same page.

"However, I'm not completely convinced," the CEO said, staring right into Yoongi's eyes. "People around you have reported that you have a very bitter relationship with IU."

God damn it. Who the hell said that? Yoongi wondered. "We patched things up."

"How?" 

Yoongi froze at that statement. We kissed and made up, but I can't tell him that. What did Jieun say? She must've said something.

"If you're wondering what IU said," the CEO said, noticing Yoongi's unusual behavior, "then I'll tell you: She remained silent."

Damn it, Yoongi cursed. "D-Did she, now?"

"Yes, she did," the CEO said, nodding his head. "So tell me. Anything. Give me anything believable."

Yoongi kept silent for a couple of more minutes, trying to think of a good excuse. However, he knew that he wasn't going to get out easy, especially with the way the CEO was staring at him. As he continued to think about what to say, there was a knock on the door. Everyone in the room looked up.

"Who is it?" the CEO asked.

"It's Jimin."

Jimin? Why is he here? Yoongi wondered. He glanced over at the staff, who seemed equally confused. The CEO frowned, but sighed.

"Come in," the CEO ordered. The door opened, revealing a somewhat broken-looking Jimin.

He didn't look like he cried, but there was something off about him. He looked like he wasn't sure what he was doing, yet at the same time, he looked like he was so sure of what he wanted to do. Jimin just looked like a contradictory mess, and Yoongi tried to brace himself. 

He's probably here to ruin my life, Yoongi thought, mentally clicking his tongue. Tch. He's going to take advantage of this situation and try to be a part of song-writing. I need to think of a way to convince the CEO not to that! He at writing lyrics!

"What's going on, Jimin?" the CEO asked.

Jimin gazed at Yoongi before looking at the CEO. "I'm sorry, but I overheard the entire conversation."

The CEO sighed and rubbed his face. "So what?"

"I…I…" Jimin gulped before taking a deep breath. "I am responsible for this mess." Everyone just stared at Jimin, waiting for him to clarify himself. "Suga…hyung…It's true that he didn't get along with Jieun initially, but I can explain!"

"Jieun? Who's Jieun?" the CEO asked.

"Jieun is IU's real name. Her real name is Lee Jieun," one of the staff whispered.

"So are you close to Jieun? Because if that were the case, then that would make sense. We could report that there was a third party involved that helped the two get along," the CEO said, switching from Jimin to one of the staffs.

Yoongi paused. I don't get it. Why is Jimin covering for me?

"Yes, we are close," Jimin said, "but we're more than that."

The atmosphere became heavy. The CEO's face crumbled.

"What?" The CEO paused.

"As one of the least popular members of BTS, I feel like I can take responsibility for this situation in an honest manner," Jimin said. He looked at Yoongi. "I am dating Lee Jieun, not Suga hyung."

There was a long, heavy pause. Everyone took a moment to process what Jimin had said before thinking of the next step.

Yoongi could only widen his eyes. What the is he saying? Why the hell would he say that? Jieun never said such a thing! That's bullshi—

"Okay," the CEO said, nodding his head. He turned to the staff. "Release that."

The staff just stared at him. "R-Release what, sir?"

"That," said the CEO while pointing at Jimin. "Release the statement that it's Jimin and IU dating."

Yoongi shot up from his chair. "But sir—"

The CEO interrupted Yoongi. "It makes sense. Jimin and IU worked on her debut stage together, right? Through working together, they eventually started dating, thus introducing IU to the BTS members, which includes Suga. Also, there wouldn't be too much of a protest because Jimin isn't a popular member. It'll make the companies look good because they support idols dating, not to mention that IU would get a little boost because of this scandal." He coldly gazed down at Yoongi. "Anything else you want to say?"

Yoongi opened his mouth, but words wouldn't come out. The way the CEO glared at him clearly stated, "You made a mess and I'm cleaning it up. Shut up and stand down."

He curled his fingers into a fist and glared down at the floor. "No, sir. Thank you so much for understanding."

"You're free to go," the CEO said. "Jimin, you stay back. You have a lot of explanation to do."

"Yes, sir," Jimin said, nodding. 

Yoongi hesitantly got up from his chair and started making his way out the door. Right before he left, he bumped his shoulder against Jimin's before shooting him a hostile look. Then, he slammed the door behind him, trying to think about how to make use of the situation.

Jimin slowly walked over to the chair and sat down, preparing himself to listen to the CEO's next orders. At the moment, he didn't really care that he wouldn't participate in making songs for BTS. As much as he desired it, he knew that he probably wasn't going to get it as long as Yoongi was here. For Jimin, the only choices he had in order to take advantage of the scenario was to either force Yoongi to let him write songs or to steal Jieun away from him.

And he chose to do the second one.