BEhind the scenes #4

Talk is silver, silence is golden.

“You damn idiot!“

Yoongi was furiously walking up and down in front of the long table, Jungkook just sitting on his chair with crossed arms, looking at the shiny surface of the table in front of him with raised eyebrows. The table made a lot more sense to him than anything that Yoongi was yelling at him for.

“You can’t just kick out Jaemi while dropping such a bomb and then tell the editors to air it exactly like that!“, Yoongi went on his scolding, “Who even allowed you to give them instructions?! That’s what Namjoon and I do, not you.“

“I am in this like everyone else, why shouldn’t I be able to make decisions as well then?“, Jungkook asked the producer and finally looked up to face Yoongi who had eventually stopped to hit his palms on the table.

“Because I said no!“

Jungkook sighed. He didn’t care if Yoongi told him it was a ‚No‘. Without Jungkook Yoongi wouldn’t be half as successful as he was right now. Wasn’t it the least to let Jungkook act as he wanted to in the show then? He didn’t care if it would upset Yoongi or not, Jungkook had agreed to join the show when they asked him to, all of the other bachelors should be grateful for that. So what if Yoongi was the producer of the whole thing. So what if it would have a bad effect on it or not. After all the time being imprisoned in that damn cage BigHit had forced Jungkook into, he had tasted so much freedom when Bachelors’ Paradise started, he didn’t want anyone to hold him back anymore in anything. Of course he wouldn’t have agreed to join the show if he hadn’t been offered that contract with Universal Musics that allowed him to leave South Korea and move to the States where he could be the musician he wanted to be all and for once. All Jungkook cared for was to finally do what he wanted to do. And to be free. Freedom was something very nice. Bombing BigHit Entertainment after they sent a freaking spy after him was just a very wonderfully satisfying side effect.

“Don’t you have anything else to say?“, Yoongi forced him to stop staring at him in silence. Oh, Jungkook knew that expression of his producer. That was the expression when he got really, really upset. The singer automatically started grinning.

“I don’t know why we’re having this conversation.“

The silence that Yoongi had wanted to stop occurred once more and left enough time and space for Jungkook to take a deep breath before he got up and sighed.

“I’m going back to the mansion. Preparing stuff, you know? For the upcoming week.“, he said while grabbing his jacket. “Glad you decided to join my team this time…“, totally not. Jungkook knew that Yoongi only did it to keep an eye on him, “…and don’t look at me like that. You know exactly where this is going. You can’t change my mind, I can’t change your mind. That’s how we are. Where is this going, Yoongi?“

The bitterness on the producer’s face was showing so strongly in the dark shades that suddenly lay underneath his eyes. Oh, this was getting even more amusing to Jungkook.

“Nowhere.“, Yoongi mumbled, his answer difficult to be heard.

“Ex-ca-use you, if you talk like that, I can’t hear anything!“, Jungkook a little further. Times had changed. Just a while ago it was Yoongi who had been used to teasing Jungkook, burdening him with so much unnecessary work and stress, it felt so freaking damn good now that the tables had turned.

“It’s going nowhere.“, Yoongi muttered very resignedly.
 

The jet was smoothly gliding through the air, the roaring of the airplane being a little dimmed by music playing in the background. Taehyung was playing a card game with with the three girls while Hoseok was sitting somewhere further away, typing something into his MacBook Air that he had brought with him. The .doc he was working on was called ‚The Namjoon-File’.

“What are you doing?“, Jimin asked as he passed by the seat Hoseok was occupying when he got back from the bathroom.  “…walk into our hearts? Are you again working on lines you want to torture Namjoon with?“

Hoseok felt insulted, hearing Jimin call those lines of art ‚torture‘. He always put so much effort in them, how could Jimin even dare to insult those lines that were supposed to express love. “What are you talking about, those are lines that come from heart!“, he insisted.

“If you ask Namjoon, he’d say those words are sounds that don’t even come out of his .“, Jimin laughed and sat down at the comfortable looking seat across Hoseok.

“Did he really say that?!“, Hoseok asked scandalized, his childish face showing how Jimin’s words hurt the young bachelor.

Jimin instantly started laughing and shaking his head. He nonchalantly crossed his legs and leaned back into the convenience of the leather. “Maybe he did, maybe he did not. Who knows, who knows…“

“Apparently you know but you won’t tell me, will you?“ Indignantly the dance instructor closed his laptop and scowled at the co-bachelor.

“Will you ever stop telling Namjoon what to say?“

Hoseok frowned. The answer was so obvious but Jimin still needed to hear it over and over again? Was it amusing him that much? “Of course not!“, Hoseok answered. It was Namjoon’s own fault that he had ended up with Hoseok handing him all those terrible lines he had to say in front of the camera. If the rapper just hadn’t rejected the offer to join Bachelors’ Paradise, making fun of the show and all of those who had agreed to join in as bachelors everything would be fine now. But no, Namjoon had to act up first, insulting each of the bachelors and then shortly before the show started he suddenly jumped on board for whatever reason. But he had to pay the price for it: Presenting the daily dose of cheesy lines Hoseok gave him.

“You’re a man-child, you know that?“, Jimin teased Hoseok and chuckled. Next to the two bachelors the group playing cards suddenly got pretty loud, Jiho seemingly having won the round, smiling brightly while Taehyung cheered and the other girls pouted. Jimin and Hoseok both shortly looked over to them.

“Nonsense.“, Hoseok contradicted. “If there’s a man-child then it’s Taehyung. So watch your words, Jimin.“

“Oh hoho! Are you threatening me, Jung Hoseok? What are you gonna do if I keep talking like that? Give me cheesy lines, too? Guess what, I’m better than you in this. Want me to prove it to you?“ Jimin suddenly got up from his seat and wanted to move forwards towards Hoseok, coming dangerously close to him.

“S-STOP IT!“, Hoseok exclaimed as he backwards climbed up his seat and always fell over it.

“Hey! Are you two okay?“, Taehyung called them and again the two looked over to the group who all were having their eyes on the two bachelors.

Jimin laughed it off and moved over to the large seating area where he sat down next to the girls. “Oh, it’s nothing. We were just joking around.“

Hoseok snorted. They were not. And he cursed the day Yoongi had brought Jimin to join the program like the others. Of all the people he could have asked he chose Jimin. Jimin who had always been the one causing most trouble among the seven bachelors. Ugh.
 

The moment Mihoon opened her eyes again she looked up at the ceiling of a car. There were people around her. Two. A random guy she didn’t know, who was looking at someone in the front of the car, telling him something and… Yoongi. What on earth did happen? Mihoon tried to think but the attempt of doing so was causing her some serious headache and so she just closed her eyes again and slowly sunk back to unconsciousness.

The second time she opened her eyes she was able to move. And think. It didn’t hurt anymore thinking about stuff and so when she got up and Yoongi was still right by her side, she turned her head over to him and addressed him immediately.

“Yoongi…where am I?“ Her voice sounded unusually hoarse. Egh, the feeling of a dry throat wasn’t all that nice either.

“At a hospital. Obviously.“, Yoongi  answered to her, sounding as distanced as always but with something reflecting in his eyes that reminded her a lot of how her grandma looked when she was relieved. Reading people… trying to understand them… being sympathetic. Nothing that Mihoon liked too much.

“Obviously.“, she repeated Yoongi’s words and went on. “The question is why.“ Mihoon looked insistently at the bachelor.

“You passed out, that’s why. During the challenge you made a mistake that almost got you killed.“

Oh right… now that he mentioned it, Mihoon step by step remembered how she entered that box full of water and when she tried to free herself, the damn key slipped out of her fingers. That stupid key… she could have won the challenge if not for the key that ruined everything. The moment she lost grip of it, the panic had been so real. Losing control, being vulnerable for once… Mihoon couldn’t care less about what others thought about her. But knowing that something went out of hand was a thing that Mihoon couldn’t accept that easily. Angrily she looked at her blanked and started forming fists with her hands.

“Are you okay?“, Yoongi asked, noticing how the woman tensed up.

“I’m okay. And you don’t need to stay with me, just go back to the others.“, she told him. In all honesty, having Yoongi around, who by far was the most judgmental of the bachelors (not even Namjoon was able to beat him), made Mihoon feel even worse. Because for some reason she cared about what Yoongi thought of her. And that was something that made her even more angry. She didn’t want to care. But she did. It made her mad.

“I prefer not going back.“, he told her nevertheless. “It’s Valentine’s Day. I don’t want to spend Valentine’s Day with the others.“

Mihoon frowned. “You don’t want to spend Valentine’s Day with the others? So you think you’d get chocolates if you go? You don’t want chocolates?“

“I don’t.“, Yoongi answered without blinking his eyes even once.

It wasn’t her business and the urge to know about the reason was making Mihoon weirder and even more angry at herself. Why was Yoongi so damn intriguing? Should she ask? Better not… but also…

“Why?“ The question ran over her lips without Mihoon being able to control her tongue, she regretted immediately why she had even wondered about Yoongi, especially after getting his answer.

“I have my reasons.“

For a long time there remained silence between the bachelor and the woman. Mihoon felt insulted by Yoongi’s answer and Yoongi… he was just being Yoongi by keeping his quiet. But even he felt awkward after a while and when he suddenly started talking, Mihoon was struck by surprise.

“Why did you insist on doing something like the aquarium? You could have killed yourself.“, he broke the silence by asking her a question she was already expecting. If not Yoongi, someone else would have asked her. But also Yoongi had the guts to block her attempt getting closer to him. A part from Mihoon hated him for that. She never did relationships. She never did that kind of emotional bull. Still, she had tried to open up to him. Make him open up to her. And she got rejected.

“I have my reasons.“
 

How awkward could a date get? Jiho didn’t know how to explain it but she felt as if she had hit the highscore for the ranking of worst dates ever. Even though Jimin had been super nice while the cameras had been around, once they were gone, he was gone, too. Of course. Why would someone like him spend time with a girl that barely managed to talk at all to him. The young girl sighed while she was staring at the sea, sitting in the sand. The bungalows were a few meters away, Jiho could see them from her place in the sand and how the sun slowly disappeared behind them, painting them in deep tone of orange and red. It was ironical how uncomfortable she felt here in paradise. Aejin and Bunbun both looked overly excited, Jiho just wished she could go back to her room at home and just start another live stream with her gamer unnies.

“What do you mean there has been an accident in Las Vegas?“

The male voice was dragging Jiho out of her thoughts and when she turned around to see who it was, she found Hoseok wandering around the beach with his phone in his hands, arguing about something.

“Just tell them to handle it themselves! You said that each of us has to handle their dates on their own so why are you calling me now? Call Namjoon instead, why me?!“ It was the first time that Jiho witnessed Hoseok not being all cheerful and happy. He even sounded pretty mad. Jiho blinked shortly while Hoseok drew closer and closer until he finally noticed her. “Talk to you later.“, he told the other person on the phone and hung up, the smile on his face that returned was a lot weaker than his usual smiles, though. “Oh hey. What are you doing here?“

Jiho shrugged shortly. “Just got back from dinner with Jimin.“, she answered to the bachelor and tried to cheer him up with a smile herself. It made her sad seeing him troubled.

“And he left you after that?“, Hoseok asked and raised his eyebrows.

“You must have left Bunbun, too.“, Jiho gave back and Hoseok immediately started laughing.

“Oh yeah, that is true!“, he told her. However, he didn’t tell her what happened. He was just dreamily grinning as he slumped down next to her in the sand and watched the sunset. What was he thinking about? Did something good happen during the date?

Jiho suddenly felt really sad again. Why did everyone manage to have a great time with the bachelors but she was always too awkward around them…? The date with Jimin went downhill, whenever she tried talking to Seokjin, she almost died of a heart attack… why couldn’t talking to the bachelors be as easy as talking to Inguk? Inguk wasn’t even the typical case of nice. He was just nice because he had to be. But he was honest. And he tried his best to make Jiho function around the others as good as possible. He probably couldn’t watch her being all weird and incapable… how much of pity must he feel whenever he was around Jiho? Pity… what else could he think of her than being overly pitiful? The sadness grew stronger the more she thought about the only person she really had found a connection to only spending time with her because he felt pity for her?

“Hey…! Hey!“, Hoseok forced Jiho to pay him some attention. “Are you crying? You’re not crying, are you? …what did Jimin do again?“ He suddenly got up and freed his shorts a little from the sand. “Come on, I’m not here to watch you cry when we should have fun!“ With that said he grabbed Jiho’s arm to get her up, too.

“W-Wait, what are you doing?“, Jiho stuttered overwhelmed.

“We are going dancing! Dancing is fun! Dancing distracts!“, he answered and already started walking.

“B-But I can’t dance!“, Jiho whined while stumbling behind him.

“Everyone can dance! And you’re here with a dancing teacher!“



While Jiho was kidnapped by Hoseok and Aejin was still out with Taehyung, Bunbun was back at the bungalow - and her mood wasn’t all that great.  Everything went so well. Hoseok was nice, he even looked pretty damn hot once the shirt was gone and they totally raided the pool area… and then after dinner Bunbun decided to go a step further and kissed him. She wasn’t the first to kiss a bachelor, the Miso kissing Jimin incident already had made its rounds in the mansion, it wasn’t a bad thing to be the second. They were here to love, at some point kissing would start naturally! So why not now?! The kiss wasn’t even bad but Hoseok… he was confusing!

“You should go back, it’s getting late.“

you, Hoseok! The sun didn’t even set and he brought her back to the bungalow like a little kid that had to be back home on time. They were freaking adults! They should do adult things! But what did they do?! NOTHING!

Bunbun frustratedly tried to turn on the TV, maybe that would distract her a little. But just one glance at the TV was enough to warn her… she’d not manage to turn it on. Still. She already had to overcome one defeat. There wouldn’t be a second defeat. Especially not against a high-tech TV. The war against technology seemed lost nevertheless as Bunbun didn’t manage to turn the TV on after another twenty minutes.

“OH, SCREW YOU!“, she barked at the TV and kicked the stand it was on.

“Oooooh… Bunny is getting angry? I didn’t know that plushy fur balls can be that aggressive.“

Bunbun instantly turned around when she heard the male voice in the bungalow and faced Jimin standing in front of her, all wet and in shorts only. How did he…?

“I was refreshing myself a little in the water and thought it’d be fun to stop by here. Those little balconies are cool, aren’t they? You can just climb up and enter any bungalow like those… at least if the backdoor isn’t close.“, Jimin said with an enormous grin on his lips. Was he mocking her? This was definitely not the right time to make fun of the female. “Do you need help?“, he then asked and walked over, grabbing the remote control and easy the stupid TV.

“… thank you.“, Bunbun muttered as she scowled at the screen.

“You’re welcome. But do you really want to spend the evening watching TV? You could do a lot more fun things… that don’t include TVs or high tech equipment that you obviously can’t operate.“ Now he was really laughing at her.

“Like what? Hm? Are you telling me you’re more fun than the TV? Because I’m not so sure of it.“, Bunbun gave back.

“Oh, ouch.“, Jimin reacted and crossed his arms, still chuckling. “Well… I am offering you some really, really nice… Monopoly. You sure you want to miss Monopoly?“

Okay, that was enough. He was mocking her and it was absolutely no fun! Bunbun’s scowl got redirected at Jimin who withstand her anger. “I think you should go now!“, she harshly kicked him out. Jimin didn’t fight back, he left like he entered and Bunbun was all alone again. But not for long.

After just a little more time passing by and none of the other girls returning, she was frowning. Aejin was probably still out with Taehyung. But Jiho? Jimin obviously wasn’t with her… so how…? Or did she spend the evening with Aejin and they left Bunbun all alone behind? This just felt…not right. She couldn’t stay one step behind when there might be an elimination at the end of this… Oh , she needed to stay!

Bunbun got up from the couch, didn’t manage to turn the TV off, and left the bungalow straight heading for the bungalows that the bachelors stayed at. The first was empty… hopefully that was Taehyung’s. The second was a jackpot as Jimin opened the door and smirked again when he figured it was Bunbun standing in front of his door.

“Monopoly won?“, he asked and gained her rolling her eyes at him. But she came to see him, so this point definitely went to him. “Wait a second, I’ll get you something to drink.“

Jimin soon raided his mini-bar and then left somewhere for a while and returned with…

“Monopoly!“

Ugh. What?! Was this a joke?!

“You can’t be serious…“, Bunbun complained, watching him set up the board at the little table in front of the couch. She needed a large gulp of the pre-mixed cocktail that Jimin had handed her before he went to get the game. “I surely didn’t come over to play Monopoly.“

“What a pity, I love Monopoly!“, Jimin told her and everything one his face told Bunbun that he wasn’t serious.
 
“Forget about Monopoly, I know something else you will love.“ With a swift move Bunbun threw the entire game off the table and got up.

Jimin’s eyes widened when she let her top sink to the floor.

“Oh !“

“WHAT?! DID YOU TOTALLY LOSE YOUR MIND?!“

Seokjin was completely outraged when he heard what Namjoon was up to. He already was alarmed when Namjoon suddenly showed up in Paris. The fashion designer had told the rapper to handle the date on his own for the upcoming week as to Seokjin the Fashion Week had a much higher priority than the show. He needed to succeed in this. Being able to attend Paris Fashion Week was such an important step in his career, how could Namjoon think it would be okay to let the girls run on the catwalk for that?!

“Hey, come on, how bad can they be?“ Namjoon shrugged and smiled encouragingly.

“VERY BAD! VERY. BAD!“, Seokjin immediately scoffed at him. “BEING A MODEL IS NO JOKE!“

This all caused Seokjin such a strong headache, that he had to massage his temples to not totally freak out. He wanted to slap Namjoon in his face. Sometimes he really had no idea where to stop. Not everything in life was as easy as he imagined and him being that mindless about others’ jobs really concerned Seokjin to the point where he wondered how Namjoon managed to survive himself making bad decisions like that.

“At least there’s Juna! She’s a model, isn’t she?“, Namjoon still tried to see the good in his idea. He looked less convinced than before, though.

Juna… yeah. Great. The girl that only made it  somehow to get some roles as an actress or jobs as models because her parents were influential enough to provide that much of a life for her. Her parents, Lee Minja and Kang Namshik, both were famous actors and they gave a lot of parties to show the world how great of a family they were and so Seokjin came to know Juna even before the show started. Which didn’t mean that he liked her. She wasn’t great in anything she did, rather riding on the fame of her parents. And not all that friendly back then, either. Seokjin could recall her being pretty ignorant and just about partying and drooling over Kim Taeyeon in particular. So he wasn’t a fan of her at all.

“Oh yeah… Juna’s going to save this show for sure.“ Seokjin sighed in annoyance and shook his head. “I swear, Kim Namjoon, if you ruin this for me I will ruin your entire life! This is what all my career is about, all the sacrifices I made in life, if it was all in vain because your stupid brain didn’t function right when you made the worst life decisions ever THAT INVOLVE OTHERS I’ll make sure to kill you!“

Okay. Maybe he was being a little too aggressive, yelling at Namjoon like that… but also no, he wasn’t. Namjoon needed to know that he did wrong in this. So utterly wrong.

All that Seokjin was left with was praying. Praying that this wouldn’t turn out to be the worst nightmare ever.

Yumi felt bad for not walking for Namjoon and Seokjin. But also… she just couldn’t. With all the stretching marks that had remained from the pregnancy, she didn’t feel any comfortable wearing that beautiful dress that they gave her to wear. She didn’t want to insult any of Seokjin’s masterpieces. How could she… so even if she got eliminated for not doing as Namjoon had asked from them, she would feel good leaving, knowing that she didn’t make Seokjin look like a fool for letting someone like her wear his dress. Unfortunately Yumin didn’t think the same.

The girl was crying ever since they kicked her out of the hall. She was crying the entire time back to the hotel and even in the hotel she didn’t stop crying.

“This is the worst birthday ever!“, she sobbed.

Like that Yumin had thrown her room’s door closed and left the single mother alone with her thoughts. Ever after Yumin and Juna mentioned that it would be their birthday even before they head off for Paris the thought of them not getting to celebrate with their beloved ones made Yumi sad. Just two weeks ago Yumi had felt similar, missing the opportunity to celebrate her birthday with her family but when she heard her daughter sing her Happy Birthday during her daily phone calls, she felt overly happy and content. But Yumin was all alone now… Juna at least was out with the others, probably enjoying herself while Yumin was stuck and left alone at the hotel. Yumi felt heartbroken about it.

So with all the money that Yumi had and which unfortunately wasn’t all that much as she only had what she brought from back home, she went out to buy a little birthday cake she could afford. Armed with the little cake she knocked at Yumin’s door.

“Happy Birthday!“, Yumi congratulated the young girl as soon as she opened her door. And in the puffy, tears covered face there appeared a smile again.

Everyone was overly tensed when the cocktail party before the eliminations was up. Miso all the more since she just arrived back at the mansion after she missed all the trips abroad because of the incident with her grandmother. She had to catch up now, otherwise she would go home. And that was no option to the vBlogger.

Of all the bachelors Miso wanted to talk to to make sure that she could stay, Jimin seemed to be gone. He was… anywhere but around where the contestants were able to find him.

“Damn, where’s Jimin?“, Miso asked a little group of girls sitting in the kitchen, having something to eat while the others were busy with their solo time with the bachelors.

“The last time I saw him he was somewhere with Bunbun. They disappeared?“, Minseo asked and took a bite from a granola bar. For some reason Minseo always was walking around with those bars… even now when they had a buffet she had them with her.

“Gonna find them…!“, Miso set her goal and browsed the area some more. At some point she decided to check the rooms in the mansion as well and what she found was Jungkook talking to Jiwoo with Jiwoo being extremely close to him and Jungkook basically squished against the end of his seat.

“Oh, sorry!“, Miso apologized and wanted to close the door again when Jungkook immediately jumped up and ran towards the door.

“WAIT!“, he screeched and stopped her midway to drag her into the room. “I’ve been pretty long in here with Jiwoo. I think it would only be fair to spend some time with other girls as well!“, he sounded pretty desperate and was there a hint of sweat on his face?

“Uhm…“, Miso mumbled and looked over to Jiwoo who was staring at Miso with the most hateful glare ever. Jeez, this chick could look super scary! “If I am disturbing you too, I can just leave.“

“Oh no! You’re not disturbing at all! Right, Jiwoo?“ The moment Jungkook looked back at Jiwoo, her angry hate face turned into a gentle smile in no time. Miso was shocked at the sudden transformation. ! This chick was crazy!

Miso watched Jiwoo pass her and Jungkook by and she felt a lot more at ease when Jungkook closed the door behind her.

“Did you just try to get rid of her?“, the contestant asked Jungkook straight.

“…maybe?“, he answered with a smile that told her that he felt halfway guilty for it. “She just got… a little much. I appreciate fans. She’s just a little… too intense?“

Miso raised an eyebrows and gently boxed against Jungkook’s arm. “You’re Jeon Jungkook, shouldn’t you be able to manage fans?“, she .

“I should. But this is not about handling fans, it’s about finding love, isn’t it?“

This conversation wasn’t all that bad. Miso’s mood lightened up. Maybe she didn’t need Jimin to stay in the competition. Maybe she had to bet on someone else to make this race.

“So you’re telling me you’re not dating fans? That would be too bad… since I’m a fan, too.“

Jungkook shortly blinked at Miso before a wide smile spread on his face.

Yoongi took Mihoon with him straight when Inguk gave them the allowance to start the cocktail party. He wanted to talk to her first as there still were a lot of things untold and needed some clarification. Once they sat down in a cosy corner outside in the garden, he straight addressed issues that were still bothering him.

“You look a lot better.“, he told her.

“Because I am not stuck in hospital without make-up and properly showering.“, Mihoon answered and frowned at him. “Wow, I didn’t know you can be talkative.“

“Why? I spent the entire time with you in the hospital.“, Yoongi gave back but Mihoon looked unimpressed.

“Yes and you kept being quiet the entire time. I might have forgotten that you’ve even been there if you hadn’t been sitting right next to me the entire time.“ Her words sounded very reproachful and Yoongi was a little overburdened with the sudden load of anger tackling him. What was he supposed to tell her to make her less angry? The reason why he had been silent the entire time?

“I was busy.“ Yoongi honestly wanted to reconcile with her but Mihoon was glaring at him with such intense anger… she didn’t even need to say something, her eyes were doing most of the work, telling Yoongi that he had been a super huge as it seemed.

“And I didn’t need a babysitter.“ Her calm words were followed by sudden irritation displaying on her face and then her whole expression went even gloomier than before. Wait… did she just get confused and angry for being angry at Yoongi?

Their little dispute got interrupted by Jimin and Bunbun who all of a sudden rushed to the corner that Yoongi and Mihoon were occupying. Jimin and Bunbun both were holding hands, giggling like teenagers who were looking for a hide-out to make out.

“Oh, whoops, didn’t know this place was already taken.“, Jimin apologized. “Let’s go somewhere else.“

He dragged Bunbun along and as abrupt as they had shown up, they disappeared again.

“boy.“, Mihoon and Yoongi both commented at the same time and looked at each other the next moment to start chuckling at the same time, too.

The tension between the two slowly dissolved again and Mihoon was even accommodating enough to offer a peace proposal.

“Let’s forget about that awkward time at the hospital. I know… you have your reasons.“ Her words still had edges that didn’t go unnoticed. “And I do, too. So how about give and take?“

Give and take? She wanted to do that? “You mean I tell you what you wanted to know in exchange for you telling me what I wanted to know?“ Hmm… Yoongi hated talking about things that bothered him. And the issue she had wanted to know about indeed bothered him. He sighed a little and leaned back, crossing his arms to think about it. “This is not a fair deal. The information should be at least equal in value, shouldn’t it?“

Mihoon shrugged. “Who tells me that your answer will be as deep as mine? Risky business, isn’t it?“

It took Yoongi a little to agree but in the end he decided to play along. Mihoon had to open up first, nevertheless. The bachelor wasn’t willing to start giving away anything as long as the contestant didn't offer a proper answer first.

“The reason I chose to go for the fish tank was that my biggest strength is keeping my breath for about 3 minutes under water.“, Mihoon informed the bachelor who immediately interrupted her.

“That’s not very deep.“, he complained.

Mihoon furrowed her eyebrows. “I’m not done yet. Are you always judging that fast?“

“You’re not? Then I have to reconsider some things.“ His answer made her laugh and Yoongi started chuckling as soon as he saw Mihoon amused about his comment.

“You’re an idiot, Min Yoongi.“, Mihoon scolded him and then went on with her explanation. “My mother and grandmother were haenyeos. The Jeju diver females, you know? I was trying to make an example.“

“Oh, now it’s getting deep.“, Yoongi approved, commenting in between her words. What she had to tell was indeed interesting. The bachelor would have never expected Mihoon to be from a Jeju diver family. Haenyeos, female divers who back in the old times were diving for shellfish but were declining in number since fisher boats took over their territory and the big cities started to tempt young females to leave Jeju, stealing away what could have kept the heritage alive. It was… too traditional. Too old-fashioned, somehow. For some reason Yoongi never considered her to be a person that was about keeping past things alive. But the irony was too obvious. The bachelors called her the mermaid… it was more matching than ever, now that Yoongi knew about her background.  “So you were making an example for your heritage and the haenyeos?“

“I don’t want to be forgotten like them.“ Aaaaaand she destroyed the image Yoongi had just made up within the blink of an eye. “When I leave this earth… I want to have lived a life that was worth something. I want to do something meaningful. I want to be someone meaningful. If I leave the world without having left my mark… that’d be terrible.“

So this wasn’t all about the haenyeos. Mihoon saw her own culture step by step getting closer to distinction. And once the haenyeos would be gone completely, who would remember?

For a long moment there was silence. Until Mihoon broke it to demand for the second part of their agreement. “So what about you now?“ Of course this moment was about to come. “What causes Min Yoongi to be terrified of receiving any kind of affection?“

Yoongi exhaled slowly. “It’s not really that I am terrified… I just… don’t like it. Affection is burdensome. If you don’t like the person the same amount, it’s even more troublesome for the person that receives all the love that he can’t give back. I hate being in that situation.“

Mihoon was about to ask him something else but in the moment she unsealed her lips, Johanna appeared and blinked at the two with expectant eyes.

“Sorry for interrupting you two… but can I steal Yoongi for a moment?“ She smiled at Yoongi who nodded and got up.

“Sure.“

To Yoongi Johanna appeared in the best moment ever. Talking about emotions, thoughts and problems never had been a thing he liked. It was natural that he escaped the moment an exit appeared. So, there was no fully satisfying answer for Mihoon. Yet.

Hoseok was great. He was cheerful, he was courteous and sweet. He loved kids. There wasn’t anybody else that Yumi could imagine fitting better to her than him. But unfortunately she didn’t feel the same about how he saw things. No matter how perfect he seemed or how much he loved children… there was no way that Yumi and her daughter could fit into Hoseok’s life. He was adventurous and wanted to experience things, life, the world even. But Yumi couldn’t imagine that lifestyle for neither her nor Yuri. Maybe in another universe they were meant to be together… but for this she wasn’t all that sure if it could ever work anymore.

For the entire evening Yumi was sitting on the couch, watching how one girl after another went for one of the bachelors. They every now and then showed up again when another girl took the chance to steal the guys away from the others. The way this competition worked was making Yumi feel very uncomfortable.

“Don’t you want to go for one of them? You might get eliminated if you don’t do anything…“, Minseo addressed Yumi and eyed her very worriedly. “Didn’t you like Hoseok? Go and talk to him!“

“Oh, what? No,no. Juna is currently with Hoseok, I don’t want to interrupt them…“, Yumi said and raised her hands in a defensive manner. Minseo shortly blinked at her but then gave up, not looking overly happy about Yumi’s decision to do nothing. But things were as they were. Yumi didn’t want to take away the chance from Hoseok finding someone who matched to his lifestyle. Juna was pretty, young and upbeat. She, just like Hoseok, was about the adventure in life. A match made in heaven.

“I’m just saying… if you don’t do anything, your chance runs through your hands and you can even watch it go! Hmm… I might go and ask Taehyung to spend a little time together… Aejin’s been with him the entire time.“ The decision was pretty soon set and Minseo left Yumi alone again.

Yumi would have stayed the entire evening alone if it wasn’t for Seokjin appearing in the living room after a while, facing Yumi all alone.

“Oh hey.“, he greeted her and gave her a gentle smile.

Yumi felt guilty in an instant. Right… she never got the chance to apologize for not walking in Paris for him. Did he even know?

“I’m sorry!“, she blurted out and then felt dumbfounded. The insecurity turned into blank awkwardness.

“Sorry? For what?“, Seokjin asked and approached her to sit down next to her.

“For… Paris… I didn’t wear your dress… because I didn’t want to ruin it.“, Yumi mumbled as an answer and couldn’t find the courage to face him directly.

Seokjin’s hand suddenly was gently touching her shoulder and in surprise Yumi looked up, facing Seokjin’s way too pretty face up close.

“You don’t need to be sorry. I am sure you had your reasons and I am not judging anyone feeling uncomfortable walking in front of hundreds of people.“, he assured her and it took a load from the woman’s shoulders.

“…but I still want you to know why. It’s just… my body… because of the pregnancy I have-“

“I know, don’t worry, I do understand.“, the bachelor interrupted her before she could finish her sentence. “And I am sure if Namjoon hadn’t been so stressed that day he wouldn’t have been as harsh to you. I should rather apologize about that than you for nature and biology. Anyway… how’s your daughter?“

Yumi noticed Seokjin’s eyes lightening up once he asked about her daughter and she suddenly felt very comforted and less nervous. He wasn’t mad at her. He didn’t judge her. He was understanding. Yumi didn’t understand how the bachelors could all be so overly perfect.

Last chance. This could be Areum’s last chance to turn things around so she could stay. Even though the Paris trip went well for her, she neither felt interested in Namjoon nor Seokjin. It was fun to be with them, especially since Areum was cracking the same old dad jokes that Namjoon hated so much but the one she was interested in was Yoongi. Yoongi who she heard spend the entire time in Vegas with Mihoon alone… and as it seemed Johanna was after him, too.

Areum was sitting outside on one of the seats, waiting for other girls to go for bachelors and come back again. When Mihoon was passing her by, she knew that Johanna was taking her chance… just fifteen minutes. She would give her fifteen minutes until she would go and interrupt them.

“Who’s with whom right now?“, Yeonhee asked both Areum and Jiho who were sitting outside with her.

“Nara is with Namjoon… Jimin is still with Bunbun. Jungkook is with Miso… I don’t know about the rest.“, Jiho answered to her and Areum got all the more nervous.

Thanks to Yeonhee Mihoon soon joined up with the three women, a glass of Sangria in her hands.

“How did it go?“, Yeonhee asked her. “You and Yoongi must be pretty close by now. What did you do in Vegas when you were alone? It must have left a good impressions, he prefers you over everyone else as it seems.“

Mihoon just shrugged. “Nothing special, really. I think we just have good chemistry and understanding for each other. What about you and Namjoon? Everything’s good?“

“Except for not seeing him the whole week? I think it’s okay. Hey Jiho, Areum, how were your dates abroad?“

Mihoon… Mihoon was obviously Yoongi’s current favorite. It would be naive to claim anything else. And it drove Areum into desperation. Yoongi was absolutely gorgeous, smart, daring… he was a mystery that mesmerized her. But how could she win Yoongi over when girls like Mihoon and Johanna were her direct competition?

“It went… okay, I think? With Jimin it went pretty bad but Hoseok is a cool person. Inguk once gave me the advice to finally make a move and approach the bachelor I like… but it’s so hard!“, Jiho informed the others about how it was going for her.

“Inguk gave you an advice? I didn’t know you’re that close with the MC.“, Yeonhee commented and suddenly looked very thoughtful. “Maybe Inguk is hinting at something…“

“You mean like we should all make the first move? Telling them straight what we feel?“, Mihoon vocalized Yeonhee’s train of thoughts. “Ugh, nothing for me. Sloppy sentimentality is not my thing.“

“But if you think about it, it makes sense when there are multiple people going for the same person. A single moment can change everything… It’s about who makes the bachelors fall first.“, Yeonhee still insisted.

Areum’s eyes wandered to Mihoon. Yeonhee had a good point. Yoongi could fall in love with all of them. The important thing was who he fell in love with first. And if he didn’t already make up his mind, then approaching him first could be the way to win…

The fifteen minutes Areum gave to Johanna because she was her friend passed very quickly and when the time came, Areum immediately got up with her mind set on going all-in.

All-in. Yeah, it was time to tell Yoongi how she felt. It was time to make him fall. It was time to confess.
 

Yumin was angry. Very angry. And she had declared Namjoon to be her No 1 enemy in the mansion. After he had taken away her chance to reign that catwalk, her first priority was to take him to task once she got the chance to see him again. And that was exactly what she did.

Namjoon was talking to Nara when she bombed their conversation by yelling super loud at him.

“KIM NAMJOON! YOU’RE NOT GOING TO SEND ME AWAY AGAIN!“

The first time she had wanted to talk to him, he was with Yeonhee and when she approached them he kicked her out of the room before she could even say ‚Rude!‘.

“Oh, not her again…“, Namjoon muttered in annoyance. Nara only laughed about it.

“I have a bone to pick with you! Brace yourself! This is going to be not so pretty, my friend!“, Yumin warned him straight. Oh she was so angry, just seeing him in front of her turned her into one of his stupid ‚love volcanos‘.

She suddenly understood what her friends at school meant when they told her that hate could be an ugly thing. ‚Once you hate someone, everything they do pisses you off. Look at that peasant breathing like they own the place.’ 100% seconded!

“I’ll give you a moment.“, Nara said and left, Namjoon reaching out for her.

“Nooooooo!“, he whined but she was already out of reach when he was trying to make her help him escape.

“Mister?!“, Yumin stopped him. “We need to talk!“

“We don’t! You had your outfit. You complained. This is not ‚Make a Wish‘. Just get with it!“, Namjoon told her and sighed. He moved impatiently, not wanting to deal with her any longer.

“I’m not accepting it like this! You owe me an apology!“, the girl demanded roughly.

Namjoon’s expression froze… and then he started laughing full out. “I do what?! I don’t owe anyone an apology! Damn, Yumin, you can be happy if you don’t get kicked out this week! How can you be that bold to me?“

Oh… so he considered kicking her out? Ugh! Yumin felt stupid for thinking of Namjoon as a big brother replacement earlier. She had been so amazed by him before he totally pulled a move by taking her out of the show. Some compassion would do pretty good on him! What a jerk! But not with Yumin. If Namjoon would cause her to leave, then she’d tell him how blind he and some of the other bachelors were first!

“This is about justice! I totally deserve an apology!“, Yumin insisted, “And for your interest: If you kick me out, you’re kicking out someone who deserves to be here and keep people who are being mean bullies!“

“Yeah, sure thing, you deserve the world. Keep on dreaming, in which kind of inverted universe did you live, huh?!“, the bachelor scoffed.

Yumin angrily placed her hands on her hips. “A universe in which I hope that you’ll get bitten by Nara and Mihoon like some of the other contestants! Duh!“

And all of a sudden Namjoon didn’t look all that confident anymore.

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