Sing For Me

*****

“Yuju-ssi, you go on ahead. I just need to talk to Mr. Song for a while,” GFriend’s manager stated as soon as he and his companion, the group’s main vocal, got off the elevator. They were currently in a foreign territory, in Bighit’s building to be exact, for the recording of the collaboration between GFriend’s and BTS’ main vocalist.

The uneasiness felt by Yuju can be seen in the way she constantly played with the fabric of her green hoodie and despite the full-blast air conditioning throughout the area, she could still feel her palms sweating. It is, after all, such an opportunity for her to be here and never in her wildest dreams did she expect herself to be partnered with her ultimate bias.

“The recording studio is just straight ahead, right?” she asked her manager, quite hesitant in going on ahead without him. Besides being uncomfortable with going on ahead by herself, she is also known for her poor sense of direction after all.

“Yes, just walk down this hallway. It’s the second door to your right.”

She wanted to tug on her manager’s sleeve so badly and cling unto him like a child would to her father but that would both be funny and awkward. She’s a twenty-one-year-old woman for goodness’ sake! The thought of seeing a boy she admired for years shouldn’t affect her this much…but it does and it’s eminently frustrating her.

With uncertainty still clouding her mind at the idea of going inside the studio alone, she gave a small nod which served as her manager’s cue to leave to wherever it is he’s going. She would have settled quickly had her manager not taken the elevator. And there she thought he was only going to be in a room across the studio. It turns out she’ll be fully on her own as of the moment.

“Great. Just great.”

~~~~~

“You do know that’s your third bottle of water already, right?” BTS’ leader asked the group’s maknae who was busy chugging gulps of water down his throat. He has been doing the same thing over the past hour and it worried Namjoon as he once read an online article that said something about having too much water intake could intoxicate a person. Of course, that’s just the extreme but for Namjoon, there’s nothing wrong with being cautious.

“It is?” Jungkook replied once he finally finished his third bottle while looking at it, disbelieving of himself for doing something unusual. He even wowed to himself as if what he did was an accomplishment to be proud of when in fact, it caused his companion to feel anxious for him.

“That’s enough for now,” Namjoon declared while gathering the two remaining bottles of water and placing them to his side, out of Jungkook’s reach. “You still have to do the recording. The last thing you’d want is to go back and forth to the restroom.,” he added.

Jungkook huffed at his hyung and decided to lean himself back on the couch instead, with his arms tightly hugging a throw pillow. He put on a sulky face before sticking his tongue out at his hyung who could only shake his head in return.

“You’re such a baby,” Namjoon commented and Jungkook was about to throw his comeback when suddenly, the door of the studio creaked signaling the entrance of someone. It didn’t take much of the two’s knowledge to know who it is as they are only waiting for one person to come.

“Yuju-ssi, good morning!” Namjoon greeted as he stood up to acknowledge the newly-arrived GFriend member, BigHit’s guest for today.

Yuju gave a small bow to him and then to Jungkook, who has now sat unexpectedly straighter.

“Good morning, RM-sunbaenim, Jungkook-sunbaenim.”

Jungkook snickered internally.

“Sunbaenim,” he said to himself with much bitterness. After all these times he’s been talking with Yuju as a friend, she still won’t drop the honorific.

“I’m glad you could come,” Namjoon said and Jungkook couldn’t help but envy his hyung for being so comfortable with talking to Yuju, something he is yet to master.

“I’m glad I didn’t get lost,” Yuju replied before giving a little chuckle. “Manager-nim wasn’t able to fully accompany me toward this room and I actually at directions,” she further explained.

Namjoon let out a prolonged ‘ah’ while bobbing his head and making his way to the side to give way for Yuju to take his place on the two-seater couch.

Jungkook wanted to slap himself for not having to think of offering her his seat first.

“Thank you,” Yuju said, giving off the brightest smile of gratitude to BTS’ leader who was grinning in return as he took pride in being such a gentleman. Seeing the scene, Jungkook felt guiltier for not acting faster than his hyung. He would have gotten her ‘thank you.’

Don’t take him the wrong way. He likes his hyung. In fact, he loves him but right now, he can’t help but wish for him to leave and he thought that that is exactly what he needs to make happen.

“Didn’t Suga-hyung ask for your help with something, hyung?” Jungkook asked Namjoon. It caused the latter’s brow to arch in question to the former’s statement. Yuju, on the other hand, kept her head hung low as she deemed herself unincluded on the suddenly brought-up topic.

“I don’t remember-”

“He did. He texted me just now,” the maknae insisted as he showed the phone in his hand.

Namjoon blinked, thinking of what Jungkook meant but after a while of wrecking his brain for anything that might remind him of what Jungkook was talking about, he decided to give up and opt to play it safe instead. Suga is not one to mess with especially when he asks for favors.

“Is he in his studio?” Namjoon asked the younger lad and what he got drained the energy in him…a shrug…which meant he has to look for Suga himself and Heaven knows how hard that is to do.

“Maybe he’s in the practice room.”

Namjoon’s lips formed a thin line as he began to picture himself wandering across the company building, in search for a little human being who is a pro at camouflaging himself with his surroundings. Somehow, he regretted not accepting that energy bag Hoseok offered to him back at their dorm.

“Will you be alright? I’ll just hurry,” he said but instead of the usual pleading eyes Jungkook gives him, asking him to not leave him alone with a girl, what he got was a huge grin and sparkling eyes which, to be honest, weirded him out but it also made him realize something.

Jungkook never received any message a few minutes ago. His phone was on the table the whole time, silent and unmoving.

“Since when did Jungkook lie like this?” he asked himself but threw the question aside when he discerned the answer upon catching a glimpse of the quiet girl beside their maknae. It didn’t take him long to put all the pieces together.

“Actually, maybe I’ll take my time. Suga is difficult to find,” he informed before he gave Yuna and Jungkook a little wave as he made his way out but before he could fully disappear behind the door, he threw Jungkook one last glance and a wink.

“Our little boy’s growing up,” he thought while he placed his hands in the pockets of his jacket, allowing his feet to drag him wherever since he knew Suga didn’t really need him for anything anyway.

~~~~~

Jungkook did a dance of victory in his head at the accomplishment of making his hyung leave. He wasn’t supposed to do it, but he was distracting Yuju way too much. Wasn’t he her partner in this collaboration and not his hyung? Then, she should be talking to him and not to his hyung which has not been the case since she basically felt more talkative to Namjoon than she has ever been to him and that irked the maknae to some extent, making him come up with Operation: Have Yuju See That I’m His Partner, which was a success by the way.

“You guys seem so busy,” Yuju finally spoke after a while of sitting in awkward silence at the presence of Jungkook who has also not bothered to speak up as he was still caught up in glee at his little victory over his hyung.

Jungkook was snapped out of his reverie and he turned to face Yuju, giving him the same grin he had been wearing ever since his hyung left. The reaction was one that Yuju was not expecting especially when she just commented on their tight schedule, but she decided to shrug it off anyway. In her mind, she told herself that maybe, Jungkook really just loves being active and always doing something.

“I guess it’s all part of the job.”

She had to agree to that. Signing up to become an idol entails sacrificing most of their time for leisure. It means giving up doing things they would have done had they opted to live the normal ‘I’m going to college’ life. What’s more is that it means saying goodbye to the dating life. Why had she come to think of such a thing? Well, she just received a text from her choirmate earlier this morning saying that one of them is getting married this coming spring and heck, the girl’s just two years her senior. They’re out there enjoying themselves with their destined partner in life either with cups of afternoon coffee or with popsicles in their hands as they revel in the scene Han River has to offer during nighttime yet here she is…single…still single, and probably will be until she turns forty.

Yuju did not intend for her dejection to be known but the sigh that involuntarily escaped her lips definitely caught Jungkook’s attention.

His brow raised, and he asked, “Is something wrong?”

Yuju looked up to meet the concerned gaze of BTS’ maknae and upon doing so she just felt her misery double.

Oh, right. And there’s him, the object of my affection…my longtime crush.

She badly wanted to smack her forehead on the table to ease herself of the burden of her depressing thoughts but that would worry her companion, which she would not want. Plus, it would definitely hurt. The last thing she needed is a bruised and aching head.

So, instead of doing the things her mind is telling her to do, she just went with a simple shake of the head. “I’m fine,” she added alongside her action but deep inside, she’s wailing at her lack of a partner and the fact that she’s too stupid to even still acknowledge her liking for a certain brown-haired idol, (cough) the one sitting beside her.

Jungkook accepted the reply he was given but he made sure to remind himself to check every now and then for signs that his collaboration partner may not be feeling all that well. Yes, he has been looking forward to seeing her again, but he’d gladly sacrifice spending time with her if it means she could take a proper rest. He’s greedy with his time with her but not to the extent that he’d be inconsiderate of her health. He does know how it feels to still work despite the body almost giving up. He knows how difficult it is to continue with schedules when all the body wants is to pass out and he’s not dumb enough to tell that she must have felt that way sometimes too. Their group is popular here in South Korea and is probably growing popularity in other countries as well. Plus, he heard that they just came back from Taiwan after a holding a fanmeeting there.

“You should relax for a bit. We can start vocal rehearsals twenty minutes from now. Besides, producer-nim is still in the meeting room with Bang PD-nim,” he said as lent the throw pillow he was hugging to Yuju who was looking at him with a flushed face.

Jungkook thought she was turning red from a developing fever or something like that. Unbeknownst to him, Yuju was really just fantasizing about him as what it would be like had he been her boyfriend, offering her his lap to rest on instead of the pillow.

~~~~~

Yuju fanned herself with her top for the second time as she looked over to the direction of the air-conditioning unit inside the room to check if it was indeed . The blinking light that flashed tells her that the device is actually running and is even adjusted to its coolest setting. The fabric of her clothes also wasn’t that thick and she’s wearing shorts rather than pants. It would be impossible for her to feel the humidity while wearing the clothes she had on now. So, the fact that she was getting hotter, with her body heating by the moment and her palms and forehead beginning to sweat despite the coolness of the room and the thinness of her clothes, could only be because of one reason: Jeon Jungkook.

Yes, him. Why, exactly? Well, to make it simple, he has been holding his stare at her for minutes now and she has no idea why he’s even looking at her like he’s accusing her of murdering his pet dog. That is if he does have a dog.

His eyes were carefully fixed on her, observing her every move as she continued to practice her lines and with every second of his stare, she felt herself getting all nervous and conscious. She’s already been in a number of collaborations with other artists but never has she acted this odd compared to her usual weirdness. There’s really nothing else to blame but Jeon Jungkook’s stare on her that makes her think even more how honestly hot he is and how much she wanted to throw herself at him.

Okay, the last part is slightly disgusting. Excuse her for being too honest with herself but that’s basically what her mind is screaming. She is a fangirl for goodness’ sake. Every fangirl of his probably thinks the same way.

Yuju bit her lips as she felt his continuing stare at her. She currently has her head bowed now to focus on the piece of paper on the table but getting herself to give her full attention into practicing is really hard to do with her companion still giving her that heart-melting look of the eyes.

She wanted to ask if there’s something wrong. She wanted to know why he was looking at her like that but she’s too shy to even utter a single word. Every time she’d muster enough courage to meet his gaze, would keep shut and her head would black out. Curse him for looking so attractive even without doing anything special. She swore whoever would inherit his genes would be blessed for eternity.

“You cut your bangs,” he finally spoke up after a lifetime for Yuju and the latter almost leapt in joy at the now broken silence. However, he was still staring, all the same. She reckoned that she could deal with that (probably).

It was the first time he said anything for a while now and Yuju would have talked back in return, out of gratefulness for hearing him speak again but instead of saying something, she just blinked at him. Did he just comment on her hair? Out of all the things he could have said and after staring at her for so long, her bangs are the only thing he noticed?

“I did my makeup with greater effort today,” she wanted to tell him.

Of course, Jungkook had a lot going on in his mind as he was looking at Yuju but for some unknown reasons, the one about her bangs was what came out of his mouth first. He wanted to tell her she looked pretty today with her makeup. He wanted to tell her that he just noticed how her eyes always seem to sparkle while looking that innocent. He wanted to tell her that the color red on her lips and her green hoodie suits her perfectly. There were so many better things he could have said but NO. Life didn’t want to make it that easy for him. He just had to talk about her bangs.

Yuju’s hand unconsciously made its way up to touch her bangs. She did have it cut two days ago but it wasn’t that much. It was just a simple trim to make it neater. In fact, she doesn’t even see much of a difference from before. She guesses she has to give it to Jungkook for actually noticing although she does still prefer if he said something else like “You look pretty today” or “Your eyes are so beautiful” but that would possibly happen only in her dreams, when she’s sprawled on her bed, sleeping while making up scenes in her head with Jungkook and her being sweet and cuddly with each other like how she once wanted them to be back when she was still fangirling over him (and Namjoon) during her trainee days and BTS’ early years in their career.

“I did,” was her reply because she doesn’t really know what else to say other than that.

Jungkook felt the urge to slap himself upon receiving the awkward answer from Yuju. It was obvious for him that he just made the worst move out of all his previous options. Yuju was averting his gaze as she bit her lips and looked everywhere but to him and if he were honest, it hurt him a bit, seeing her feel this conscious with him just because his mouth didn’t listen to his mind.

As what s would use to say, Jeon Jungkook is impenetrable. He doesn’t get swayed by women so easily. He doesn’t even like being with the opposite . He’s awkward around them. He prefers being around his hyungs.

He would have agreed to that but that’s before. Now, Jeon Jungkook has officially admitted to himself. It is not impossible for him to be impressed by a woman because ladies and gentlemen, Choi Yuna just turned the game around. How? Well, tell it to the next statement that came out of his lips.

“They look good on you. Just my type.”

~~~~~

“How about we try harmonizing in this part?” Yuju suggested as she pointed a line of the song. She stared at Jungkook, waiting for his reply, but all he did was nod at her absentmindedly, with his mouth forming that cute little round shape that she couldn’t help but find suiting for him. She, perhaps, could say that she’s a er for some Jungshook action. And yes, she knows that term. It’s been all over the Internet, especially in one of Jungkook’s fansite which she visits religiously.

“I guess we could,” Jungkook muttered, a few seconds late than when it should have been said. He’s been feeling uncomfortable with himself ever since that bold statement he just made moments ago. It was never his intention to let the words in his head go past his lips. He never intended to be that honest. He’s just thankful Yuju didn’t take it awkwardly. Rather, she thought of it as a compliment, nothing more and nothing less. That was luck working on him. He just escaped a possibly messy and awkward situation but of course, that doesn’t mean he got over everything within a blink of the eye. Still, even after almost an hour later, he’s not in the right mind to think straight. He was still contemplating on the things he should do or say to further prove himself innocent from the crime of actually ‘hitting on Yuju.’ Well, it’s obvious he’s guilty but not every person in the wrong would want to admit immediately, right? There’s still this denial stage and that’s exactly what he’s going through right now. He knows very well that he just made a move on Yuju unexpectedly, but he also doesn’t want to be true to the case.

“Okay, let’s try.”

The two singers began to create melodies with their voices and surprisingly, they got what they wanted to hear right after the first attempt.  Yuju was proud of their teamwork while all Jungkook had in his mind was awe for his companion. Indeed, he has heard her sing so many times during award shows or year-end performances. He’s even searched up some videos of her on YouTube but watching her sing this close to him made the hairs on the nape of his neck stand up. That was how good she is at reaching out to his senses just through her voice. He would even gladly play her singing on loop if he could. That’s why having her here with him for a collaboration is what he calls part of his good fortune for this year.

“Well, that came out perfect,” Yuju stated as she managed to keep the smile plastered to her face. Jungkook reciprocated it with his own bunny smile, finally able to think properly again, courtesy of Yuju’s voice that snapped him out of his unwanted musings.

“I didn’t know our voices would match well considering that I usually have a loud voice while yours is more calming,” she added while Jungkook nodded in agreement to her every word.

It wasn’t a lie, him agreeing. He, too, wasn’t expecting them to harmonize well. In fact, he even imagined them struggling to find the balance between their voices because of the obvious difference in each of their voice’s resonance.

Jungkook could feel his face beginning to heat up at her words. He cleared his throat before unconsciously biting his lips, unable to think of what else to say. He’s never been good with interacting with girls anyway and for years he actually came to be okay with that…until now.

“I guess we’re perfect together then.”

That came out wrong the second time around for BTS’ maknae. He mentally slapped himself multiple times as soon as he realized how much of an idiot he is being today. He literally just made another move.

“For a duet…I mean,” he said in defense for his stupid (yet not really untrue) statement. The heat on his face doubled as he looked at his singing partner with much apprehension. One flirty comment was enough, but his mouth was like “No~ You have to do it twice and many more times” and he hated that in him. He knows sooner or later, if he continues blurting out nonsensical stuffs that obviously seems flirtatious, Yuju might get uncomfortable around him. He doesn’t want that. He likes her to act casual around him. He likes seeing her at ease whenever she’s with him although that may be impossible now that he just ed up again.

“Aaahh, yeah.”

Yuju felt a trickle of sweat form on her forehead despite the coolness of the studio and she looked outside, through the glass window, to distract herself of the growing tension in her mind. She gazed at the record producer who’s helping them out in this collaboration. She hoped that he could check on them and save her from giving her liking away by being too obvious but that would probably not be possible now considering that the producer seems to be busy visiting dreamland as he left both Jungkook and her to themselves for a bit of rehearsals before the actual recording while he takes a nap. So much for help.

The two twenty-one-year old singers sat in unpleasant silence as they started a competition on who could avert the other’s gaze for longer. Jungkook, being the competitive and proud person that he is, thought that he shouldn’t give in no matter how much he wanted to look at Yuju to see how she’s coping with his previous ‘flirting.’ Her reply didn’t do much in telling him whether she liked what he just said or not although he’s guessing she probably hated it for being too straightforward and clearly hinting his sort of attraction toward her. He won’t even be surprised if he finds her distancing herself from him from now on.

If only Yuju could squeal her heart out right now, she would. She’d probably release all this pent-up excitement that’s been inside her system ever since day one of developing her affection for a certain BTS member. If before all she could do was stare at him on television and computer screens, now she’s seeing him in person, face to face. Heck, she’s even doing a collaboration with him. Never in her entire existence did she imagine all these to happen. Not to mention the fact that he just sort of flirted with her. Okay, it wasn’t really a direct kind of flirting, but her fangirl heart is screaming at her to consider what Jungkook told her as a kind of flirting and so she’s going with that. It is never too bad to assume. At least, even just for a short while of delusion, she could live in bliss.

Yuju gradually tilted her face to the direction of Jungkook and she saw that he was now busy, trying to distract himself with the piece of paper on the table and the pen on his hand. He was creating these random drawings which she found to be quite well-made when compared to the normal drawing skills of people their age. She isn’t a psychologist, nor did she study any psychology courses, but she could see that anxiety is being manifested in his actions and in his facial expression and only then did she realize that she wasn’t the only one nervous with this interaction of theirs. Jungkook, too, felt the tension although his might be different from hers. He is, in fact, not her fan.

Jungkook could feel it- the stare she was giving him. It made him badly want to look at her. He wanted to see so much if she’s still alright with him even after his petty attempt of a flirting. His mind is telling him now to do so but he can’t seem to make himself obey, not when he’s still embarrassed as hell. Also, there’s this tiny part of him who is scared of seeing Yuju dislike him for being too direct. He has this thought that maybe she doesn’t like guys who flirt around with girls too much and maybe he just showed her that he’s like that when in fact, he’s absolutely not. Well, he’s nothing like that except around her. For some odd reason, he likes impressing her. He likes showing off how much of a likeable person he is and he’s not much of a fool to know what that reason is.

“Damn, I think I like Yuju.”

~~~~~

“That’s a wrap everyone! Good job!” the record producer greeted both Yuju and Jungkook as they exited the studio after exactly an hour of recording the song for their collaboration. He gave each a gentle pat on the shoulder with a big smile on his face, showing how proud he is of their hard work for the day. He is evidently in a good mood after napping for so long.

Yuju replied with a timid ‘thank you’ along with a smile while Jungkook gave him his bunny smile and bowed a little over twenty degrees.

“You also did well, producer-nim,” Yuju retorted while she put on the coat her manager handed over to her.

The producer chuckled in mild embarrassment at the compliment before he cleared his throat and said, “I say we take a photo together, the three of us.”

For a second, Yuju and Jungkook’s eyes met as they thought of the same thing: the photo will be leaked to the public. They know it will evoke a mix of reactions from their fans and oddly enough, the two have opposing views on such a situation. Yuju is having second thoughts as Jungkook’s fans might hate her for being this close to him while Jungkook, on the other hand, is pleased at the thought of showing everyone that he just had his first ever collaboration with a girl…with Yuju.

“Come here, both of you,” the producer commanded while he ushered the two to stand by his sides. Albeit hesitant, Yuju followed his words and stood to his left. Meanwhile, Jungkook got to his spot, on the producer’s right, within a fraction of a heartbeat.

“Okay, one, two, three, smile!”

~~~~~

All five members erupted in simultaneous laughtet as soon as they were shown the photo that Namjoon slid on the center table of their dorm.

The seven of them were currently huddled together in the living room for an evening of being free from any schedule and they decided to spend the time by ordering takeout and opening up bottles of beer. It would have been the perfect night for the group’s maknae but their leader, who was there with him back at the recording studio, just had to ruin it all by showing the other members the photo of him and Yuju together. It was the one his Namjoon-hyung took without prior notice where he is seen gaping at a distance while Yuju stood uncomfortably close to him for the shot. His hyung even went to tell the others of his petty attempt at making him leave so that he could be alone with Yuju. Most of the times, he likes his Namjoon-hyung but now is probably not one of those times.

“Definitely the perfect definition of Jungshook,” Jimin commented while holding Namjoon’s smartphone in his hand before handing it over to Jin who was still indulging himself in delight at their maknae’s embarrassment.

“I need a copy of this Jungkook’s cropped face on my phone,” the eldest said in between his bursts of laughter.

“C’mon, have pity on Jungkook,” Taehyung said as he wrapped an arm around Jungkook’s shoulder, pulling him closer.

Jungkook looked at his hyung with a bit of gratitude for sympathizing with him but regretted doing so afterwards when Taehyung could no longer hold in his laughter and joined Jin on making fun of him.

“Seriously guys, let’s not tease Jungkookie,” Hoseok said, more earnest than Taehyung. He grabbed the phone from Jin and handed it over back to Namjoon who immediately put on the ‘I’m the leader so I’m mature and responsible’ face as if he wasn’t the real culprit behind the maknae’s teasing.

“Besides, shouldn’t we celebrate instead?”

Everyone, including Jungkook, sat quiet and confused at what Hoseok was implying and so he was left with no choice but to point it out despite him not wanting to say it out of respect for Jungkook’s feelings.

“Jungkook just experienced his first real crush. That is if you exclude his liking for IU-sunbaenim.”

The other five older members let out a prolonged ‘oh’ while they bobbed their heads in agreement. Even Yoongi who really isn’t interested with things like crushes and girls showed his keen attentiveness on the topic. He did, in fact, raise Jungkook as well and seeing such a progress in him made him feel like a proud dad.

“Let’s make a toast for our maknae!” Jimin suggested while he poured beer on each member’s glasses.

Jungkook felt his face heating up. He should want the ground to swallow him now. He should want to escape this hell of a situation. He should hide from the embarrassment. All those things he should do but surprisingly, he doesn’t want to. He wants to stay here instead and acknowledge his hyungs’ congratulations for what they call ‘a milestone in Jungkookie’s life.’ He would have complained and yelled them to stop but he didn’t do that. Rather, he accepted his beer and stood up to clink his glass along with the others. For him, there’s no use in whining when he, himself, isn’t denying his growing liking for GFriend’s main vocal.

“Get ready, Jungkook,” he thought as he was reminded of his next schedule with Yuju for the music video shooting. “You’re in for a whole lot more.”

*****

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! I hope you had a great day today. If you didn't, then I hope this update made you feel better. :)