12

I can’t believe I’m resorting to this. But then again, this is also Namjoon’s fault.

The large overbearing lady turned around to face me, her electric blue eyeshadow and bright red circles of blush almost scaring me out of my seat.

‘Lee, Michelle?” she asked, voice scratchy and loud.

“Yes,” I mumbled quietly, tucking my sweaty palms into the pocket of my sweatshirt.

“Sit up straight,” she barked, tapping her pen sharply on the wooden table. “You’ll never be able to get yourself a man with that kind of posture.”

Why does this feel like high school detention?

“Yes ma’am,” I replied, straightening up until my back arched slightly, making her raise an eyebrow.

“Blood type?” she snapped, jotting down notes on her clipboard when I didn’t even say anything yet. “Height and weight?”

“Blood type O, 177 cm, and 60 kg,” I answered, wondering why my physical appearance mattered in matchmaking.

“You’re a little on the heavier side,” she commented snidely, shooting me a glance over her clipboard.

Excuse me lady, I’m not exactly a stick and my weight is within healthy range.

I didn’t comment and continued to watch as her pen scribbled across the paper, gold hoop earrings jingling as she tilted her head.

“I’m assuming you already like someone and you want to know if you’re compatible or not,” she said, taking in my nod with a flicker of her eyes. “Describe his or her personality.”

“Well, uh, he’s slightly immature, shy, begrudgingly caring, and funny,” I said, my heart thudding against my rib cage as Jungkook’s annoying smile came to mind.

The lady, who still didn’t have the courtesy to tell me her name, made a thoughtful humming noise, blue-lidded eyes narrowing as she pursed her bright red lips. Her beady eyes flitted over me, lingering on my face and hair.

“Appearance?” she said, clicking her tongue and starting a new page on her clipboard.

“Around the same height as me, caramel brown hair, ear piercings, nice smile, eye crinkles,” I said, internally cursing when my stupid heart stuttered again.

Exactly what about him is getting to me?

Another sweep of the eye and click of the tongue.

“I don’t think this is going to work out,” she said, rubbing a hand over her chins, leaving a black smudge of ink. “He seems to be the type of person to like a poised, more traditional girl. You clearly, are a little much.”

I’m paying you to do this, the least you can do is be a little nicer.

“How would you know that?” I asked, clasping my hands together, trying to stare her down. She didn’t notice and moved to pour a cup of water for herself, leaving more black smudges on her face as she did so.

“I’m a matchmaker for a reason,” she said, dodging the question. I grimaced when I saw the bright red stain on the mug. “I know everything there is to know about men. Or women, depending on the client’s tastes.”

“So, back to the reason why I’m here, why am I not the traditional type?” I asked, eyes following her hand as she placed the mug down with an ominous ‘clink.’

“You don’t quite fit in with the beauty standards here. Frankly, you’re not beautiful to people here,” she said bluntly, making my anger flare. “I very much doubt he likes ugly girls.”

I resisted the urge to throw the water at her face.

Even Mulan had a better matchmaker.

“So you’re saying, I’m not compatible with the person?” I forced out, clenching my teeth in anger, not over her verdict, but over her blatant rudeness.

“That’s correct,” she snapped. Outright snapped at me like I was a waste of her time.

The nerve of this woman.

“I think that’s enough,” I said crisply, my fists clenched as I stood up from my seat. “I’ll be leaving now.”

“Good luck,” she deadpanned. I felt my eyebrow twitch on its own accord when I heard her mutter, “If anyone wants you.”

“I hope you invest in some better makeup and a gym membership,” I said, before walking out, the magenta curtain swishing angrily as I pushed it aside. Still fuming as I slammed down a wad of bills at the counter, frightening the clueless attendant, I stomped through the glass doors, glaring at the colorful sign that read, “Madame Sylvette: Bringing Together Lonely Souls in 1986.” Namjoon shot me a cheeky grin as he leaned against the company car. His dimpled smile did nothing to appease my anger.

“I can’t believe you actually thought that this would work, you liar,” I snarled, shooting him a glare as I yanked open the car door.

“I’m guessing it didn’t go well?” Namjoon said nonchalantly, starting the ignition, an easy grin on his face.

“Joonie, I’d rather have Mulan’s matchmaker,” I sighed, dropping my head into my hands. “She straight up called me ugly and said that I have no chance with Jungkook.”

“Well, she’s obviously wrong, seeing how smitten Jungkook is with you,” Namjoon said, raising his eyebrows.

“How am I supposed to respond to that when a professional just told me that I’m ugly?” I scoffed gloomily, fiddling with the ends of my hair self-consciously.

“I can tell you that you’re just as attractive as any girl group member out there. Just because you don’t fit the beauty standards here, doesn’t mean you’re not beautiful,” Namjoon preached, shooting me an embarrassed smile.

“Thanks Joonie, but I feel like you’re biased,” I grinned, patting his hand like he was a child.

“If you don’t believe it, just ask Jungkook,” Namjoon said, sounding absolutely certain. “The boy is totally whipped and doesn’t shut up about you.”

“Does he talk about me a lot?” I asked, a horrible giddiness rising in my chest that I desperately tried to push down.

“He talks enough, and when he’s not, he’s always gawking at the pictures Hannah-sshi sent him when Hoseok-hyung and Seokjin-hyung wenting shopping with you guys,” he shrugged. “I swear he was drooling.”

“I seriously doubt it,” I laughed, making Namjoon glare at me. “Hannah told me that he doesn’t really talk to girls so maybe he’s just acting strangely because I’m a girl.”

“Whatever you say,” Namjoon sing-songed. His disappointed look went unnoticed. “You haven’t seen Jungkook since you went shopping right?” I nodded shortly, my anger still bubbling in my chest as the matchmaker’s words echoed around in my mind.

“It’s been about a week already,” Namjoon sighed. “Why don’t you try on some of the clothes they bought you and go see him? A looking nice doesn’t hurt anybody.”

“I’m not going to dress up. Those clothes have already been labeled as ‘Date Clothes’ and are too nice to wear casually. I’m never going to get a date so you can give up on me,” I said, making Namjoon roll his eyes in annoyance.

“Your skull is too thick. I give up trying to get through to you,” Namjoon said, pushing my head with his knuckles. “We’re back at the company so you better talk to Jungkook, otherwise I’m going to lock you in a room with him.”

“What is this? Seven minutes in heaven?” I snorted, getting out of the car and following Namjoon through the lobby.

“If you want it to be,” Namjoon laughed. “I’m sure he would be down for that.”

“Well aren’t you encouraging today,” I said sarcastically raising my eyebrows.

“I’m just trying to become a godfather before I turn forty,” he grinned, pushing the door open for me like a gentleman.

Jungkook should take some notes.

As soon as I opened the studio door, a big green ball wrapped itself around me, smooshing my face into its chest.

“Michelle! You’re here!” it squealed, rubbing my face into its fuzzy green fur.

“Taehyung, drop,” Seokjin commanded, making me realize that the furry ball was Taehyung and not some weird mutant animal that the boys managed to get their hands on.

“Hey Tae,” I smiled, after he released me, sheepishly patting down my hair until it stopped sticking straight up from the static. “What’s got you so excited?”

“I just wanted to see you,” Taehyung pouted, making my heart melt into a puddle of goo. “You’ve been so busy lately and I barely get to see you anymore.”

“Tae, we saw each other like two days ago,” I laughed ruffling his hair. His arms were still around my waist as he smiled his signature boxy smile.

“One day is already too long,” he said, face lighting up like the sun.

“Your girlfriend is going to be one lucky girl,” I laughed, patting his cheek. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jungkook staring at us in a manner that almost seemed like a glare.

Did something happen between him and Taehyung?

“What are you guys doing right now?” I asked as Taehyung and I joined the circle that everyone was sitting in.

“We’re trying to decide which colors to dye our hair since the salon appointment is tomorrow,” Yoongi said. “I already decided on gray, Jimin on black, and Jungkook a lighter shade of his hair color right now.”

“I’ll help,” I said, crossing my legs and leaning against Taehyung’s shoulder. “I want to dye my hair too so give me some suggestions too.”

“Okay, let’s start with Seokjin-hyung then,” Yoongi said. “What are your options?” Taehyung started poking my side with his fingers. Discreetly slapping his hand away, I shot him a mock glare, making him stick out his tongue at me in return.

“I was thinking either dark purple or blonde, something that I haven’t done before,” he said, running his hand through his light brown strands.

“I’m thinking blonde then,” I said, taking in his appearance. “You’ve done dark colors before so I think a lighter color will be a nice change.”

“I agree,” Hoseok said, smiling widely. “The fans will go crazy.”

“Yeah?” Seokjin asked, eyes widening in surprise. “Okay, I’ll go with blonde then. If it turns out bad I’ll smack the both of you.”

“Trust them, it won’t look bad on you,” Namjoon agreed, flashing Seokjin a thumbs up. I squirmed as Taehyung blew on my neck, the strange feeling making goosebumps prickle my skin.

“Stop it Tae, I hissed, tugging lightly on his hair to move his head away. “I’m ticklish.” As soon as I saw the evil look in his eyes, I regretted the words that came out of my mouth.

“So you’re ticklish?” he grinned, leaning in close and poking my nose before jabbing a finger in my side. Clamping my mouth shut to muffle the squeal that threatened to spill, I glared at his cheeky smile.

“What about you Hoseok? What color do you want?” Yoongi asked, moving down the circle.

“I don’t want to do anything too wild this comeback,” Hoseok said. “Maybe just a lighter shade of brown.”

“You can weave some other shades and orange in it so it doesn’t look too plain,” I suggested, slapping Taehyung’s hand once again. “It won’t be too noticeable and it will still switch things up from your last comeback.” I narrowed my eyes at Taehyung, warning him that I was losing my patience. The little monster just flashed me a smile and continued to harass me.

Just wait a little bit longer.

“Namjoon?” Yoongi asked, having officially taken the role of moderator for this impromptu meeting.

“How about green?” Namjoon said, making me cough in surprise and other members burst out laughing. “What? Yoongi-hyung had green hair in ‘Run’ during the last comeback.”

“Yeah, but Yoongi-hyung is Yoongi-hyung,” Jimin laughed. “He dyes his hair so many weird colors that we’ve already gotten used to it.”

“I’m going to be bald within the next few years,” Yoongi grumbled, ruffling his pale mint strands.

“I’ll get a darker green then. If I don’t like how it looks, I’ll just dye it again,” Namjoon shrugged, standing by his decision. I laughed silently when the image of Namjoon with green hair popped into my mind. Taehyung poked my stomach, making me choke and slap him on the back.

Tae, you are so dead after this.

“Taehyung?” Yoongi asked, now turning face us. Taehyung immediately withdrew his grabby hands and placed them in his lap.

“Orange?” he grinned, making me laugh as he slowly turned into a tangerine in my mind.

“Orange like Jimin?” I asked, gesturing at Jimin’s mop of once vibrant orange hair.

“Maybe with a little red mixed in because I already had orange hair during the ‘Boy in Luv’ comeback,” he replied, making a face at Jimin who smiled and called him a brat. Taehyung seemed pretty satisfied with his decision and resumed his task of tormenting me, digging his fingers into my sides, smiling innocently when I squirmed.

“Then it’s settled. Bang PD has a recording scheduled for us right about now, so let’s head over,” Namjoon said, standing up. “Except for you Jungkook, since you already recorded your part yesterday.”

“Good luck hyungs,” he said dully, smoldering glare still fixated on Taehyung.

Did they fight or something? He looks downright murderous.

“Bye Kookie, have fun with Michelle,” Taehyung waved, flashing me a bright smile. My anger faded away immediately and I scolded myself for being so weak. As soon the door closed, I turned to Jungkook, who still hadn’t moved, and took a seat next to him.

“What wrong?” I asked, fiddling with my hands, unsure why I was so nervous.

“Nothing,” he said emotionlessly, not meeting my eyes.

“I saw you glaring at Tae. What happened?” I pressed, seeing the obvious tension between them, mostly on Jungkook’s part.

“Stop calling him Tae,” he said harshly, glaring holes in his lap as he lowered his head to hide his face.

“Did you guys fight?” I asked, tipping his chin up so that he met my eyes. I almost flinched when I saw anger and another emotion swirling in his eyes.

“No, it’s really stupid,” Jungkook sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I don’t even know why I’m mad.”

“You seem pretty angry even you though claim it’s stupid,” I said gently, patting his back in a soothing action. “Did he do something wrong?”

“No, okay?” Jungkook suddenly burst out. “He didn’t do anything wrong, but what was I supposed to do when you two were flirting and acting all sweet right in front of me?”

I stopped moving and stared him at blankly, noticing the flush on his cheeks and the tight clench of his fists.

“What are you trying to say?” I asked slowly, almost too scared to hear his answer.

“It means I like you,” Jungkook whispered, almost too soft to hear, even when I leaned in as close as possible. This time, I was unable to stop the sudden rush of blood that colored my cheeks, the whole room swirling for a brief second before coming back into focus. “You don’t have to say anything, I just wanted you to know. You probably like Taehyung-hyung anyway.”

“I’m sorry Jungkook,” I sighed, holding my back laughter when his face fell with disappointment. “This morning, a professional matchmaker just told me that I had no chance with you because you didn’t like ugly girls.”

His disappointment became confusion as he saw me laughing, muffling my giggles with my hand.

“So, do you like me too?” Jungkook asked, eyes shining like a puppy. His pout didn’t help as it nearly gave me a heart attack.

Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap. Calm down Michelle and think. What did Nicholas Sparks tell you to do? Should I say yes? I should I wait?

“Yes?” I said, backing away a tiny bit.

“Why did that come out as a question?” Jungkook whined, face falling again. “Does that mean you don’t like me?”

“Wait no, no, I do like you,” I blurted, grabbing his hand before he could leave. “I just don’t know what to say because this has never happened to me before.”

“So you like me?” Jungkook asked, a smile stretching across his face, revealing those annoying eye crinkles.

“Yes, I do like you. Don’t make me say it again because I’m really embarrassed right now,” I mumbled, covering my face with my hands. “That was kind of anticlimactic though. I’ve been watching too many romance movies.”

“Romance movies?” Jungkook asked, furrowing his brows. “Promise me you won’t watch them anymore.”

“Why? Some of them are really good,” I said, trying my best to ignore Jungkook’s hand, which was slowly inching closer to mine.

“Because I can’t measure up to the guys in movies. They are all too perfect,” Jungkook pouted, fitting his fingers between mine, emitting a gentle warmth.

“Not really,” I laughed, ruffling his hair. “If you said any of those cheesy lines, I would have punched you long ago.”

Jungkook smiled, top lip disappearing into his teeth and grasped both of my hands in his. “Then I’ll be the boyfriend that will send you a pickup line every day.”

“Boyfriend?” I laughed just to . “You haven’t even asked me out yet.” Jungkook turned a bright shade of red and ducked his head, lips forming the words, but no sound coming out. I laughed, lifting his head so I could look him in the eye.

“I’ll do it instead then. Jungkook, will you be-”

“Wait! No, I can do this,” Jungkook interrupted, taking a deep breath and holding my hands together, still intertwined with his. “Michelle, will you be my girlfriend?”

“What do you think Jungkook?” I said seriously, fighting the grin that was about to spread across my face.

“U-Um, I don’t know. I just assumed that you would since you said you liked me and all that , but I understand-” Jungkook rambled, suddenly paling and again, refusing to meet my eyes.

“Jungkook,” I laughed, cupping his cheeks. “I was just kidding. I’d be the most stupid girl in the world if I said now right now.”

A beautiful smile lit up on Jungkook’s face, the smile of the happiest person on earth. My heart didn’t stutter this time, it went straight into overdrive. My breath flew out of my lungs when he wrapped his arms around me, hugging me close to his chest and resting his head on my shoulder.

“You know, I’m still kind of bummed that you’re almost the same height as me,” he whispered into my ear, making me laugh and ruffle his hair. “At least now I won’t have to bend down every time I kiss you.”

“And who says I’ll let you do that?” I smiled, wrapping my arms around his back, heart beating a mile a minute.

How am I so confident right now? By heart was about to die just a few seconds ago.

“I’m going to be the only one that’s allowed to kiss you, so if you don’t let me do it, you better be prepared to die a ,” he laughed, pulling away and patting my head.

“That’s inappropriate,” I muttered, blood rushing to my cheeks. “You’re too young.”

“Says the one that’s younger than me,” Jungkook teased, poking my cheek.

“Whatever,” I huffed, trying to let go of my embarrassment. Jungkook just smiled and pressed his lips against my cheek.

“Next time, it’ll be on the lips.”

***

Soft whispers echoed through the hall as six figures huddled around a translucent glass door. Muffled voices floated through as they pressed their ears against the door, straining to catch every word.

“Aren’t we technically supposed to be recording right now?” one whispered, receiving a few glares and a round of shushing.

“Yoongi-hyung, this is more important, don’t you agree?” Taehyung grinned, gesturing excitedly at the closed door. The rest supported Taehyung with a flurry of nods.

“This is our maknae’s big moment, of course we have to be here to support him,” Seokjin grinned, sounding like a proud mother.

“By eavesdropping through the door after lying to him?” Yoongi sighed, crossing his arms, but nevertheless leaning in to hear the words drifting through the door.

“He did say that he was going to ask Michelle out today,” Jimin whispered. “I guess seeing Taehyung mess around with her was too much for him.”

“We were just playing around with each other,” Taehyung whined. “Nothing serious.”

“Well, it certainly didn’t seem that way to Jungkook,” Hoseok countered, Namjoon nodding in agreement. “His fists were clenched the entire time.”

Taehyung just shrugged and pressed his ear to the door again, when it suddenly opened.

~

I'm finally done with the chapter and sorry for pushing it back so long. There are a bunch of exams looming within the next few months so I won't be updating as often. I guess I'll just update when I update. Please be patient with me. Now back to the story, we're finally getting somewhere! Jungkook has finally asked her out. It only took 12 chapters! (I was being sarcastic if you didn't notice.) Anyways, feedback is much appreciated. Enjoy.