Jungkook had been on the photoshoot for only four hours, but he swore it felt a lot longer than that. He had an extensive, laborious day ahead of him. He had 2 more schedules after this one and he couldn’t wait until the day ends.

“Jungkook, the skin care company called again. They’re revising their offer again, so I’m hoping for a better response from you this time,” his manager briefed him as they were preparing to go to his next schedule.

Jungkook just nodded in response, not really caring about work right now. He didn’t want Jihyo to think that he had stopped trying. He was just dead busy with his schedule and his phone just happened to run flat on charge today. Then again, he didn’t know what number Jihyo was using.

Jungkook’s next schedule was at a national park where the public could see the photoshoot clearly.

Within 15 minutes of driving without any traffic, they arrived at their location. Jungkook looked at the surrounding as the crew was finishing their final touches of the set up. He didn’t mind the people who were gathering near the shooting area because he was used to it. The fame and attention surprisingly didn’t seem to enthral him as it used to.

Because after all, even if you’re doing something you have always loved doing, you won’t be able to face it with the same passion, smile and will when you have a deep gash in your heart that never seem to go away no matter how hard you try.

People looked, people talked, people walked past.

For an unknown reason, being surrounded by people made Jungkook feel desolate and even lonelier. Was it because even though he was surrounded by people, none of them loved him for he really was? Or because he knew none of them would stick by as soon as his fame dims?

He hung his head low and kicked the pebbles under his foot. He remembered the time when Jihyo was over at his house and she managed to find a heart shaped rock in his yard.

“Jeon Jungkook!”

“What?” Jungkook yelled from inside the house, looking at Jihyo who was crouching down.

“Come here, quick!”

Jungkook paused his game on his console and went to Jihyo.

“Look! It’s a heart-shaped rock! Look! Look!” Jihyo beamed happily like a child while Jungkook was clueless as to why she was so happy over a weird shaped rock.

“It’s rare, but why are you so happy about it?” Jungkook asked as he looked at Jihyo curiously.

Jihyo frowned at him and snarled, “You really don’t appreciate little things. This is like your heart, Jungkook.”

“It’s a… rock?”

“Exactly. You have a stone heart.”

If only Jihyo knew that Jungkook’s heart was far from being stone-like. What stone bleeds and ruptures at the tiniest things that had to do with Jihyo?

As Jungkook walked towards the bench to take a seat, he noticed a couple who piqued his attention. The woman in the black dress who was accompanied by a man seemed to be similar to Jihyo’s physique. The woman then turned her head to the guy, making her side profile visible to Jungkook. And as if his intuitions couldn’t get any wrong, it turned out to be really Jihyo.

How many times did they have to run into each other?

Looking at the man whom he recognised to be Mark, the guy with Jihyo from the bar, he couldn’t help but die a little more inside. In the public eye, they were a couple. Heck, what if Jihyo was dating him now? Was Jungkook’s actions all going to waste? Was he really not worth it? Did he mess up that bad?

And as Jihyo looked around her, she turned around and her eyes landed on Jungkook. Shock was evident from her face, but she didn’t tear her gaze away.

The crew, the crowd and the fancy clothes were Jungkook’s world. She looked at him from afar and as if she hadn’t realised before, she realised that Jungkook’s world was so different from hers now that she was just a normal citizen. She felt that she didn’t belong to his world.

Knowing Jungkook, Jihyo knew he would’ve said something different from what Jihyo was thinking. Whenever she was down, he was the one who would go against her negative thoughts and her low self-esteem. She smiled at the thought.

“-Right, Jihyo?” Mark called and smiled at her. His smile then disappeared when he noticed she wasn’t paying attention. “Jihyo?”

“W-What? I’m sorry, I was a little distracted,” Jihyo apologised, but Mark trailed his eyes on where she was looking just a couple seconds ago.

Mark chuckled as he sighed. He knew from that night when they met Jungkook at the bar that Jihyo had never stopped feeling something from Jungkook. He knew that he had already lost the moment he saw her eyes falter slightly when she looked at Jungkook.

“It has always been him, isn’t it?” Mark looked straight into Jihyo’